High-power laser-produced-plasma EUV source

The Engineering Test Stand (ETS) is an 'alpha-class' Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tool designed to demonstrate full-field EUV imaging and provide data required to accelerate production-tool development. The illumination system of the ETS is based on a laser-produced plasma (LPP) source using a recirculating Xe target medium. A Nd:YAG laser focused onto a Xe-gas or liquid target creates a plasma producing 13.4 nm radiation, at the center of the Si/Mo multilayer mirror passband. A condenser system, comprised of multilayer-coated and grazing incidence mirrors, collects the EUV radiation and directs it onto a reflecting reticle. A 1500 W LPP source has been integrated with the ETS and used for lithography. Two Xe spray sources have been evaluated, a cluster jet and a liquid spray jet. The cluster jet Xe source output rapidly degraded from heating of the hardware by the plasma causing the Xe clusters to be too small for efficient conversion. The TRW-designed liquid spray jet operates stably for hours and with tripled conversion efficiency into the condenser optics, producing EUV in the ETS.