Towards Next-Generation Small-Size Boron Ion Implanting Apparatus

The article provides a brief insight in the history of ion implantation, paying special attention to boron ion implantation in high purity Germanium crystal, exclusively valuable in the production of highly effective sensors of high-energy radiation to detect photons in the range of megaelectron-volt or higher up to hard X-ray range. There is a need for small user-friendly implanters in response to urgent demand to scale up production of short wave sensors, which are in exclusive demand for various nuclear safety systems worldwide. Particularly, research driven “high tech” small and medium enterprises in Latvia are among the three leading worldwide producers of such sensors and systems. These SME provide instrumentation to the International Atomic Energy Agency, to the government of Singapore, to the government of Japan to facilitate dealing with nuclear waste management caused by the Fukushima disaster, and to the European Space Agency. The challenge is to find technology that allows the use of solid state boron as ion sources instead of its chemical compounds, which create too many technological difficulties in the beam forming process and in most cases are poisonous. The review of existing solutions points towards a possible breakthrough where hollow cathode plasma combined with radiofrequency inductive coupled plasma can be used to produce boron ions from elemental boron in sufficient quantity to form a high energy ion beam close to 100 kV. Based on the review, promising solutions are offered, the first results of relevant analytic and pilot experiments are analysed and the future experimental roadmap is discussed.