Characterization of a vacuum-arc discharge in tin vapor using time-resolved plasma imaging and extreme ultraviolet spectrometry

Discharge sources in tin vapor have recently been receiving increased attention as candidate extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light sources for application in semiconductor lithography, because of their favorable spectrum near 13.5 nm. In the ASML EUV laboratory, time-resolved pinhole imaging in the EUV and two-dimensional imaging in visible light have been applied for qualitative characterization of the evolution of a vacuum-arc tin vapor discharge. An EUV spectrometer has been used to find the dominant ionization stages of tin as a function of time during the plasma evolution of the discharge

The performance of the jet trigger for the ATLAS detector during 2011 data taking

The performance of the jet trigger for the ATLAS detector at the LHC during the 2011 data taking period is described. During 2011 the LHC provided proton–proton collisions with a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and heavy ion collisions with a 2.76 TeV per nucleon–nucleon collision energy. The ATLAS trigger is a three level system designed to reduce the rate of events from the 40 MHz nominal maximum bunch crossing rate to the approximate 400 Hz which can be written to offline storage. The ATLAS jet trigger is the primary means for the online selection of events containing jets. Events are accepted by the trigger if they contain one or more jets above some transverse energy threshold. During 2011 data taking the jet trigger was fully efficient for jets with transverse energy above 25 GeV for triggers seeded randomly at Level 1. For triggers which require a jet to be identified at each of the three trigger levels, full efficiency is reached for offline jets with transverse energy above 60 GeV. Jets reconstructed in the final trigger level and corresponding to offline jets with transverse energy greater than 60 GeV, are reconstructed with a resolution in transverse energy with respect to offline jets, of better than 4 % in the central region and better than 2.5 % in the forward direction

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Characterization of highly transient EUV emitting discharges

The method of disturbed Bilateral Relations (dBR) is used to characterize highly transient plasmas that are used for the generation of Extreme Ultra Violet (EUV), i.e. radiation with a wavelength around 13.5 nm. This dBR method relates equilibrium disturbing to equilibrium restoring processes and follows the degree of equilibrium departure from the global down to the elementary plasma-level. The study gives global values of the electron density and electron temperature. Moreover, it gives a method to construct the atomic state distribution function (ASDF). This ASDF, which is responsible for the spectrum generated by the discharge, is found to be far from equilibrium. There are two reasons for this: first, systems with high charge numbers radiate strongly, second the highly transient behaviour makes that the distribution over the various ionization stages lags behind the temperature evolution

Subnanosecond Thomson scattering on a vacuum arc discharge in tin vapor

In a previous series of Thomson scattering (TS) experiments on an extreme ultraviolet producing vacuum arc discharge in tin vapor, background radiation emitted by the plasma was found to make measurements impossible for all parts of the discharge except the prepinch phase. To reduce the level of recorded background radiation, we have built a setup for time and space resolved subnanosecond TS. Results obtained with this new setup are presented for experiments on previously inaccessible parts of the discharge—the ignition phase, pinch phase, and decay phase. For the first two, measurements have been performed at different heights in the plasma. Electron densities for the pinch phase have been derived. For the decay phase, the electron densities confirm previous Stark broadening data. From the overall results, a more complete picture of the plasma evolution can be formed

Sub-ns Thomson scattering applied to an EUV emitting vacuum arc discharge in tin vapor

In a previous series of experiments, an existing Thomson scattering (TS) setup was applied for measuring electron temperatures and densities in a vacuum arc discharge in tin vapor, which is an experimental version of a candidate source for high power EUV generation. These experiments were succesful only for the so-called prepinch phase of the discharge, due to the high level of background radiation emitted in other parts of the plasma evolution. We have designed and built a new setup for sub-ns TS, based on a laser with shorter pulse duration, a faster camera, and an optical delay line in the laser path. Results of experiments on previously inaccessible phases of the discharge are presented. From these, a more complete picture of the evolution of the vacuum arc discharge can be derived

Sub-ns Thomson scattering applied to an EUV emitting vacuum arc discharge in tin vapor

In a previous series of experiments, an existing Thomson scattering (TS) setup was applied for measuring electron temperatures and densities in a vacuum arc discharge in tin vapor, which is an experimental version of a candidate source for high power EUV generation. These experiments were succesful only for the so-called prepinch phase of the discharge, due to the high level of background radiation emitted in other parts of the plasma evolution. We have designed and built a new setup for sub-ns TS, based on a laser with shorter pulse duration, a faster camera, and an optical delay line in the laser path. Results of experiments on previously inaccessible phases of the discharge are presented. From these, a more complete picture of the evolution of the vacuum arc discharge can be derived

Time-resolved pinhole camera imaging and extreme ultraviolet spectrometry on a hollow cathode discharge in xenon

A pinhole camera, an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrometer, a fast gatable multichannel plate EUV detector, and a digital camera have been installed on the ASML EUV laboratory setup to perform time-resolved pinhole imaging and EUV spectroscopy on a copy of the Philips EUV hollow cathode discharge plasma source. The main properties of the setup have been characterized. Time-resolved measurements within the plasma pulse in the EUV have been performed on this source. Specific features of the plasma, such as a ring shape in the initiation phase and a propagating sphere during the pinch phase, have either been discovered or confirmed experimentally. Relative populations of various ionization stages in the pinch plasma have been estimated on the basis of line intensities and calculated transition probabilities. The changes in relative line intensities of a single ionization stage can be explained by a combination of temperature and excitation/deexcitation balance effects. Experiments with argon dilution on a newer version of the source show considerable effect on the shape of the xenon EUV spectru

Comparison of experimental and simulated extreme ultraviolet spectra of xenon and tin discharges

Xenon and tin both are working elements applied in discharge plasmas that are being developed for application in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. Their spectra in the 10–21-nm-wavelength range have been analyzed. A fully analytical collisional-radiative model, including departure from equilibrium due to a net ionization rate, was used to simulate the EUV spectra. Detailed Hartree-Fock calculations, using the COWAN package, were applied for determination of the energy levels and optical transition probabilities of the 8+ to 12+ ions of both elements. For the calculation of the radiation, the opacity of the plasma was taken into account. Time-resolved measurements of the spectra from ionizing phases of two different discharge plasmas were corrected for the wavelength-dependent sensitivity of the spectrometer, and compared to the results of the simulations. Fairly good agreement between the experiments and the model calculations has been found