(English name: Ion source) is a device that ionizes neutral atoms or molecules and extracts ion beams from them. It is indispensable in various types of ion accelerators, mass spectrometers, electromagnetic isotope separators, ion implanters, ion beam etching devices, ion thrusters, neutral beam implanters and vacuum coating machine in controlled fusion devices part.

      The gas discharge, the collision of electron beams on gas atoms (or molecules), the sputtering of the working material by the charged particle beam, and the surface ionization process can generate ions and lead them out into beams. Various types of ion sources have been developed according to different usage conditions and uses. The widely used arc discharge ion sources, PIG ion sources, dual plasma ion sources and dual Peng sources are based on the gas discharge process and are often referred to as arc sources in general. The high-frequency ion source generates ions by high-frequency discharge in the gas, and also has a wide range of uses. The emergence of new heavy ion sources has significantly improved the charge state of heavy ions, among which the more mature electron cyclotron resonance ion sources (ECR) and electron beam ion sources (EBIS). There are two types of negative ion sources with better performance: transfer type and sputtering type. Under certain conditions, various ion sources based on the gas discharge process can provide a certain amount of negative ion beam current. Ion source is a subject with a wide range of applications. In many basic research fields such as atomic physics, plasma chemistry, nuclear physics, etc., ion sources are very important and indispensable equipment.
       In the ion source thruster experiment, it was found that the thruster material flew out of the ion source, which started the application of the ion source in the material, especially the surface modification of the material. Another important application of ion sources is high energy physics. Specifically, ion accelerators. Simply put, an ion source is used to generate ions of a certain material, and the ions are accelerated on a magnetic loop to bombard a target, producing new substances or revealing new laws of physics.
      There are many types of ion sources in the vacuum coating machine. Mainly include: high frequency ion source, arc discharge ion source, kaufman ion source, radio frequency ion source, Hall ion source, cold cathode ion source, electron cyclotron ion source, anode layer ion source, inductively coupled ion source and possibly many others Type ion source not mentioned. Although there are many types of ion sources, the purpose is nothing more than online cleaning, improving the energy distribution of the plated surface and modulating to increase the energy of the reaction gas. The ion source can greatly improve the bonding strength between the film and the substrate, and at the same time, the hardness and wear and corrosion resistance of the film itself will also be improved.