In NXE laser-produced-plasma (LPP) light sources, extreme-ultra-violet (EUV) light is created by exciting small droplets of Sn with a pre-pulse and main pulse laser. The Sn droplet is converted into plasma, which emits the desired light wavelength. Under non-optimal conditions, tin debris fragments can be created that can contaminate the light source optics. The current presentation describes experiments with a novel metrology technique that can detect and quantify debris in the source. The results can be used to optimize source settings to significantly reduce contamination and increase lifetime and availability.
A novel optical technique uses a pulsed double cavity laser at 532 nm with beam-shaping optics that is fired at a synchronized time delay after the EUV burst. The light is converted to a thin light sheet that illuminates possible debris fragments in the direct region around the plasma.
Mie scattering theory is applied to convert the intensity of the incoming individual particles to an estimated diameter estimation and the two frames are correlated with advanced particle tracking algorithms to capture the velocity and direction of each individual particle. Because light intensity is used for particle sizing, small individual particles can be detected. The technique provides particle count, diameter, direction and velocity information.
This technique has successfully been applied on operating NXE test sources. It has proven to directly identify plasma conditions with significant debris reduction. Furthermore, it has potential to correlate the plasma settings to lifetime estimations and thus can be used for both source optimization and design.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.