US Patent 7488958 High conductance ion source

A system, apparatus, and method for changing source gases used for ion implantation is provided. A source chamber has a housing having one or more sidewalls and an extraction plate, wherein the one or more sidewalls and the extraction plate enclose an interior region of the source chamber. One or more inlets provide a fluid communication between one or more ignitable material sources and the interior region. An extraction aperture in the extraction plate provides a fluid communication between the interior region of the source chamber and a beam path region external to the source chamber. One or more diffusion apertures in the one or more sidewalls of the housing further provide a fluid communication between the interior region and a diffusion region external to the ion source chamber, wherein deposited ions are operable to diffuse out of the source chamber through the diffusion apertures.