High-Power Plasma Discharge Source At 13.5 Nm And 11.4 Nm For Euv Lithography

An intense pulsed capillary discharge source operating at 13.5 nm and 11.4 nm, suitable for use in conjunction with Mo:Si or Mo:Be coated optics, has produced an average power of approximately 1.4 W within a 0.3 nm emission bandwidth from the end of the capillary when operated at a repetition rate of 100 Hz. The source is comprised of a small capillary discharge tube filled with xenon gas at low pressure to which electrodes are attached at each end. When a voltage is applied across the tube, an electrical current is generated for short periods within the capillary that produces highly ionized xenon ions radiating in the EUV. Issues associated with plasma bore erosion are currently being addressed from the standpoint of developing such a source for operation at repetition rates of greater than 1 kHz

Nonlinear optics with focused x-ray lasers

We have investigated the possibility of focusing x-ray lasers with the use of multilayered mirrors or zone plates. The results indicate that x-ray intensities as high as 10{sup 14} W/cm{sup 2} can be achieved by focusing saturated Ne-like x-ray lasers. These intensities should be adequate for studying nonlinear optical phenomena. 9 refs., 2 figs

Hydrogen-like recombination x-ray laser experiments using a 20 picosecond laser pulse at the Nova facility

Hydrogen-like recombination X-ray lasers are currently under investigation as an alternative candidate to collisional pumped soft X-ray amplifiers. Efforts are being concentrated on the n = 3 to n = 2 transitions in H-like Mg and NaF. 5 refs., 1 fig

Short wavelength nickel-like x-ray laser development

Ni-like x-ray lasers have been produced at wavelengths near to, and below the carbon K edge (43.76-{Angstrom}). Recent work has concentrated on the development of the Ni-like Ta amplifier at 44.83-{Angstrom}. Amplification occurs in a laser produced plasma created by irradiating a thin foil of Ta with two beams of the Nova laser. Up to 8 gainlengths have been demonstrated so far, with a gain coefficient of 3.2 cm{sup {minus}1} and a gain duration of 250 psec. The wavelength of 44.83-{Angstrom} is close to optimal for holographic imaging of live cells. It remains to optimize the coherent output power of the amplifier to use it as a source for future x-ray holography experiments. 19 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs

REVIEW OF LIVERMORE'S SOFT X-RAY LASER PROGRAM

We will describe our optical laser pumped XUV Laser Program. To date, we have concentrated our efforts on exploding foil amplifier designs using Ne- and Ni-like n=3p to 3s and n=4f, d to 4d, p inversion schemes, respectively. We will describe our latest modeling results as well as measurements which demonstrate output power near the 1 MW level at 206 and 209 Å and lasing at wavelengths as short as 106 Å