In this work, ablative and gas capillary discharges have been investigated as potential sources for the EUV lithography technology. Carbon and lithium ablative discharge spectroscopy and EUV energy measurements have been performed. Gas (O₂, Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe) capillary discharge were powered by fast, nanosecond, high voltage Blumlein-like pulser. Detailed investigation of capillary length and diameter, gas pressure, capacitance and inductance of the electrical driver are documented. The energy density, expressed in J cm^-3, appears as a monitoring factor for an efficient production of 13.5 nm radiation band. The measurement and the evaluation of measurement uncertainties lead to the conclusion that the in band, 13.5 nm +/- 0.9 nm, energy radiated by the Xe lamp developed in this work ranges from 0.5 mJ/sr/shot to 20 mJ/sr/shot for a 7 J energy input. Repetition rate investigation of the first prototype have shown operation at 50 Hz in continuous mode and up to 350 Hz in burst mode.

Date Published: 20 August 2001
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 4343, Emerging Lithographic Technologies V, (20 August 2001); doi: 10.1117/12.436689

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4343:
Emerging Lithographic Technologies V
Elizabeth A. Dobisz, Editor(s)