Optimization of Extreme Ultraviolet Emission from Laser-Produced Tin Plasmas Based on Radiation Hydrodynamics Simulations

We investigated the plasma conditions for obtaining highly efficient extreme ultraviolet light from laserproduced tin plasmas for lithography of next generation semiconductors. Based on accurate atomic data tables calculated using the detailed configuration accounting code, we conducted 1-D radiation hydrodynamic simulations to calculate the dynamics of tin plasma and its emission of extreme ultraviolet light. We included the photo-excitation effect in the radiation transport. Our simulation reproduced experimental observations successfully. Using our verified code, we found that a CO2 laser can be useful in obtaining higher conversion efficiencies up to 4%.