ABSTRACT:

A light sputter ion pump for ultra high vacuum was fabricated using 5-mm-thick neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) magnets. The weight of the pump was reduced by 30%, compared with conventional sputter ion pumps using ferrite magnets. For the sake of uniformity of magnetic field, three pieces of magnet were combined into a 100 mm × 150 mm magnet block for the 30 ℓ/s pumping element. The authors coped with the low working temperature (below 150 °C) of the NdFeB magnets by forming a pure and dense chromium oxide film on the inner surface of the stainless steel pump body. With this vacuum thermal oxidation, the outgassing rate of water and hydrogen was considerably reduced so that a high temperature bakeout was unnecessary. The ultimate pressure achieved by the developed pump was much lower than 10-10 mbar even with a low bakeout temperature at 100 °C.