{"id":1823,"date":"2016-10-10T05:49:19","date_gmt":"2016-10-10T12:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/?p=1823"},"modified":"2023-12-20T10:34:17","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T18:34:17","slug":"longer-lifetime-ionizer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/longer-lifetime-ionizer\/","title":{"rendered":"Longer lifetime ionizer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Longer lifetime ionizer for the 04-303 and 06-350 ion source.<\/p>\n

\"04-303-ionizer\"

As many of you know, RBD Instruments\u2019 04-303 and 06-350 ionizer rebuilds last for an average of 1100 hours of run time. Depending on how much sputtering you do, that can translate into anywhere from 2 months to 3 years between ionizer replacements. But wouldn\u2019t it be nice if they could last longer, such as 2000 hours or more?<\/p>\n

Introducing the new long life 04-303 and long life 06-350 ionizer! There are two failure mechanisms related to the ionizers that we have addressed with our new and improved rebuild process. First, as part of the normal operation of the filament, tungsten slowly evaporates onto the base of the ionizer. That coating can cause leakage current between the grid and extractor that shows up as pressure on the 11-065 controller even when no gas is being fed into the source. That ghost pressure current typically shows up towards the end of the filament lifetime cycle. We have addressed this problem by cutting a groove into the ceramic base at the location where the tungsten deposit occurs. That groove will prevent the leakage current from happening when the deposition occurs.<\/p>\n

The second improvement that we have implemented is a special low temperature filament wire. Besides running much cooler, the wire evaporation rate is greatly reduced so the deposition rate is also reduced proportionally. Just as with our normal ionizer rebuilds, the filament will hold its shape for the entire filament lifetime, resulting in a very stable and repeatable ion current.<\/p>\n

Another benefit of our low temperature wire is that it takes much less filament current to get the same emission current as compared to the normal tungsten wire. As a result, the ion gun controller will also run 20% cooler and operate trouble free longer.<\/p>\n

So how long with our new ionizer last? We are projecting between 2000 and 2500 hours but need more data to be able to provide an accurate answer. That is where you can help us. We will be offering a few of our new long-life ionizers at a reduced price and in return we ask that you keep a log of how many hours you get before the ionizer burns out. As that data comes in we will be able to provide an accurate average lifetime.<\/p>\n

A longer lifetime ionizer pays for itself by reducing how often you need to vent your chamber for maintenance.<\/p>\n

For more information or to place an order, please contact us<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Longer lifetime ionizer for the 04-303 and 06-350 ion source. As many of you know, RBD Instruments\u2019 04-303 and 06-350 ionizer rebuilds last for an average of 1100 hours of run time. Depending on how much sputtering you do, that … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[161],"tags":[22,23,25],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2DEXo-tp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":100,"url":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/ionizer-replacement-procedure-video\/","url_meta":{"origin":1823,"position":0},"title":"04-303 or 06-350 Ionizer replacement procedure video","author":"Randy","date":"September 13, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The procedure to replace the ionizer on a 04-303 or 06-350\u00a0 ion gun is one of those things that once you see it done, you know how to do it. You can expect to replace your ionizer anywhere from once every few years to once every few months, depending on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ion Sources"","block_context":{"text":"Ion Sources","link":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/category\/ion-sources\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/04303-feedthrough-pins1-300x225.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1069,"url":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/ion-source-filament-assembly-phi-04-303-06-350\/","url_meta":{"origin":1823,"position":1},"title":"Ion source filament assembly for PHI 04-303, 06-350 and FIG 5 ion sources","author":"Randy","date":"May 23, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"RBD Instruments\u2019 proprietary technique for rebuilding the PHI 04-303 ion gun and 06-350 ion source filament assembly results in more stable sputter rates and longer filament lifetimes than other ionizers. The pictures below are actual 04-303 ion source filament assemblies which show the visible light emitting from the filaments. Note\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ion Sources"","block_context":{"text":"Ion Sources","link":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/category\/ion-sources\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ion-source-filament","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/3-post-ionizer.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3668,"url":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/04-303-differential-aperture-improvement\/","url_meta":{"origin":1823,"position":2},"title":"04-303 Differential Aperture Improvement","author":"Randy","date":"January 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The differential aperture in the PHI 04-303 5kV ion source provides two functions: It helps to shape the ion beam. It restricts the gas in the ionizer, which is at a higher pressure, from entering the vacuum chamber. The differential aperture is made from stainless steel and after years of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ion Sources"","block_context":{"text":"Ion Sources","link":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/category\/ion-sources\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Old-aperture-04-303.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":231,"url":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/how-to-align-the-04-303-ion-gun\/","url_meta":{"origin":1823,"position":3},"title":"How to align the 04-303 ion gun","author":"Randy","date":"November 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This post explains how to align the Physical Electronics 04-303 ion gun typically found on PHI Auger electron spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy systems. The alignment principles explained here will apply to just about any surface analysis ion source. First, here is a video that explains all of the alignment\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ion Sources"","block_context":{"text":"Ion Sources","link":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/category\/ion-sources\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3769,"url":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/11-065-filament-current-test\/","url_meta":{"origin":1823,"position":4},"title":"11-065 Filament Current Test","author":"Randy","date":"July 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Procedure to test the filament current on an 11-065 ion gun controller when it is connected to the 04-303 ion gun.","rel":"","context":"In "Ion Sources"","block_context":{"text":"Ion Sources","link":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/category\/ion-sources\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"11-065 filament current output","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230707_082047_resized.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230707_082047_resized.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230707_082047_resized.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/20230707_082047_resized.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4195,"url":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/new-controller-for-ig2-sputter-ion-source-package\/","url_meta":{"origin":1823,"position":5},"title":"New controller for IG2 sputter ion source package","author":"Randy","date":"May 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The RBD Instruments 32-175 controller is used with the 04-165 source as part of the IG2 2kV sputter ion source package.","rel":"","context":"In "Ion Sources"","block_context":{"text":"Ion Sources","link":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/category\/ion-sources\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/32-175-picture.jpg?fit=1200%2C513&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/32-175-picture.jpg?fit=1200%2C513&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/32-175-picture.jpg?fit=1200%2C513&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/32-175-picture.jpg?fit=1200%2C513&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1823"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1823"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3954,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1823\/revisions\/3954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbdinstruments.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}