Development of Extreme-Ultraviolet Light Source by Laser-Produced Plasma

Mitigation of fast ions from laser-produced Sn plasma for an extreme ultraviolet lithography source

The authors present evidence of the reduction of fast ion energy from laser-produced Sn plasma by introducing a low energy prepulse. The energy of Sn ions was reduced from more than 5 keV to less than 150 eV nearly without loss of the in-band conversion from laser to 13.5 nm extreme ultraviolet EUV emission as compared with that of a single pulse. The reason may come from the interaction of the...

Tin laser-produced plasma as the light source for extreme ultraviolet lithography high-volume manufacturing: history, ideal plasma, present status, and prospects

Dynamics of laser-produced Sn-based plasmas for a monochromatic 13.5 nm extreme ultraviolet source

Dynamics of laser-produced Sn-based plasmas were investigated for a monochromatic EUV lithography (EUVL) source. A hollow plasma density in a Sn plasma driven by Nd:YAG laser was observed in the late time within the laser pulse. The possible reason comes from the distributed laser energy deposition in the expanding corona. This distributed absorption results in a temperature gradient in the cor...

Three-dimensional simulation of laser-produced plasma for extreme ultraviolet lithography applications

Laser-produced plasma LPP from a tin target is being considered as the light source for the next generation of extreme ultraviolet EUV lithography. An integrated model was developed to simulate the plasma behavior and the EUV radiation output in LPP devices. The model includes plasma heat conduction and hydrodynamic processes in a two-temperature approximation, as well as detailed photon radiat...

Efficient laser-produced plasma extreme ultraviolet sources using grooved Sn targets

An efficient extreme ultraviolet EUV generation method has been developed with the use of a CO2 laser-produced plasma from a grooved target. A 5% conversion efficiency from laser to 13.5 nm photons was obtained with the use of grooves in a tin target or by repeated laser pulse shots at the same target position. Modeling studies proved that the groove target controls the hydrodynamic expansion o...