Kazuhisa Hashimoto

Characterization of extreme ultraviolet emission using the fourth harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser

Characterization of an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission from laser-produced tin plasma was investigated for 266 and 1064nm laser wavelengths. The EUV emission exhibits a laser-wavelength dependence in terms of angular distribution and structures of emission spectra. Angular distributions expressed in a form of I(θ)∝cosαθ became α=1.3 and 0.5, respectively, for 266 and 1064nm laser wavelength. It is found that spectra from 266nm laser plasma show dips at around 13.5nm that had been well replicated in computer simulations. Both angular distribution and spectral structure at 13.5nm suggest the existence of an opaque plasma region in front of the EUV source plasma generated by 266nm radiation.

SnO2 target with controllable microstructure and thickness for generating extreme ultraviolet light

The target of weaved tin-oxide nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning method. The microstructure, density, and thickness of the tin-oxide fibers could be well controlled by different fabrication condition. Extreme ultraviolet emission from Sn and SnO2 nanofibers was experimentally investigated. It was found that the microscopic structure of the target could have great affection on the extreme ultraviolet light emission.

Properties of EUV emissions from laser-produced tin plasmas

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission from laser produced plasma attracts much attention as a next generation lithography source. The characterization of EUV emission has been carried out using GEKKO XII laser system. The twelve beams irradiated tin or tin-oxide coated spherical targets uniformly and dependence of EUV spectra on laser intensity were obtained with a transmission grating spectrometer and two grazing incidence spectrometers. The EUV Conversion Efficiency (CE, the ratio of EUV energy at the wavelength of 13.5 nm with 2 % bandwidth to incident laser energy) was measured using an absolutely calibrated EUV calorimeter. Optimum laser intensities for the highest conversion were found to be 0.5- 1x1011 W/cm2 with CE of 3 %. The spectroscopic data indicate that shorter wavelength emission increases at higher laser intensities due to excessive heating beyond optimum temperatures (20- 40 eV). The CE was almost independent on the initial coating thickness down to 25 nm.

Energy spectra and charge states of debris emitted from laser-produced minimum mass tin plasmas

Laser-produced Sn plasma is an efficient extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light source, however the highest risk in the Sn-based EUV light source is contamination of the first EUV collection mirror caused by debris emitted from the Sn plasma. Minimum mass target is a key term associated with relaxation of the mirror contamination problem. For design of the optimum minimum mass Sn target, opacity effects on the EUV emission from the laser-produced Sn plasma should be considered. Optically thinner plasma produced by shorter laser pulse emits 13.5 nm light more efficiently; 2.0% of conversion efficiency was experimentally attained with drive laser of 2.2 ns in pulse duration, 1.0 × 1011 W/cm2 in intensity, and 1.064 μm in wavelength. Under the optimum laser conditions, the minimum mass required for sufficient EUV emission, which is also affected by the opacity, is equal to the product of the ablation thickness and the required laser spot size. Emission properties of ionized and neutral debris from laser-produced minimum mass Sn plasmas have been measured with particle diagnostics and spectroscopic method. The higher energy ions have higher charge states, and those are emitted from outer region of expanding plasmas. Feasibility of the minimum mass target has been demonstrated to reduce neutral particle generation for the first time. In the proof-of-principle experiments, EUV emission from a punch-out target is found to be comparable to that from a static target, and expansion energy of ion debris was drastically reduced with the use of the punch-out target.

Estimation of emission efficiency for laser-produced EUV plasmas

Extreme Ultra Violet (EUV) light source produced by laser irradiation emits not only the desired EUV light of 13 ~ 14 nm (about 90 eV) but also shorter x-rays. For example, emissions around 4 ~ 8 nm (about 150 ~ 300 eV) and 1 ~ 2.5 nm (about 0.5 ~ 1.2 keV) are experimentally observed from Sn and/or SnO2 plasmas. These emissions are correspond to the N-shell and M-shell transitions, respectively. From the view point of energy balance and efficiency, these transitions should be suppressed. However, they may, to some extent, contribute to provide the 5p and 4f levels with electrons which eventually emit the EUV light and enhance the intensity. To know well about radiative properties and kinematic of the whole plasma, atomic population kinetics and spectral synthesis codes have been developed. These codes can estimate the atomic population with nl-scheme and spectral shapes of the EUV light. Radiation hydrodynamic simulation have been proceeding in this analysis. Finally, the laser intensity dependence of the conversion efficiency calculated by these codes agrees with that of the corresponding experimental results.

Characteristics of volume expansion of laser plasma for efficient propulsion

Laser propulsion has many advantages over other conventional methods of producing thrust in space applications. For example, laser energy can be delivered to a remote objects such as space debris which otherwise is impossible to make thrust on its surfaces to remove from the orbits. However, essential advantage of laser propulsion lies in the fact that the characteristics of laser propulsion can be controlled over wide range of parameters by changing laser irradiation conditions. This advantage is based on the capability of controlling specific energy carried by propellant. The specific energy is a key parameter of thrust performance since it determines the propellant temperature or expanding velocity and thus propulsion efficiency. A number of researches so far conducted have treated laser plasma interactions created on solid surfaces with laser parameters such as wavelength, pulse width, intensity, as well as ambient gas pressure. The present study will give a new insight to laser plasma interactions and/or new mechanism of laser thrust generation. Laser energy is deposited inside solid target and, as an initial condition, confined by solid material. Since the confinement time is an order of milli-second, both shock waves and thermal conduction can tale part in the energy transfer process and therefore, give more controllable parameters over the thrust characteristics. In this manner, specific energy carried by target material or propellant can be controlled by changing the depth of energy deposition region. This will give a new dimension of controlling laser plasma characteristics for laser propulsion. In this paper, experimental results and physical insights will be presented as to propelled mass and velocity dependence on laser energy and temporal behavior of impulse generation, as well as enhancement of impact generation over the conventional ablation scheme.

Study on EUV emission properties of laser-produced plasma at ILE, Osaka

A new research project on extreme ultraviolet (EUV) source development has just been started at the Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University. The main task of this project is to find a scientific basis for generating efficient, high-quality, high power EUV plasma source for semiconductor industry. A set of experimental data is to be provided to develop a detailed atomic model included in computer code through experiments using GEKKO-XII high power laser and smaller but high-repetitive lasers. Optimum conditions for efficient EUV generation will be investigated by changing properties of lasers and targets. As the first step of the experiments, spherical solid tin and tin-oxide targets were illuminated uniformly with twelve beams from the GEKKO XII. It has been confirmed that maximum conversion efficiency into 13.5 nm EUV light is achieved at illumination intensity less than 2 x 1011 W/cm2. No significant difference is found between laser wavelengths of one μm and a half μm. Density structure of the laser-irradiated surface of a planar tin target has beem measured experimentally at 1012 W/cm2 to show formation of double ablation structure with density plateau by thermal radiation transport. An opacity experiment has just been initiated.

Dependence of EUV emission properties on laser wavelength

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission from laser produced tin plasma was investigated for 1064, 532 and 266 nm laser wavelengths. The EUV conversion with tin target tends to be high for shorter laser wavelength and is optimized at 4-5x1010 W/cm2 for 1064 and 532 nm. The EUV emission exhibits laser wavelength dependence in terms of angular distribution and structures of emission spectra. It is found that spectra for 532 nm and 266 nm showed spectral dips at around 13.5 nm and these dips are well replicated in computer simulations. Both the angular distribution together with the spectral dips may suggest existence of opaque plasmas surrounding the EUV emission region.

Progress in LPP EUV source development at Osaka University

For EUV lithography the generation of clean and efficient light source and the high-power laser technology are key issues. Theoretical understanding with modeling and simulation of laser-produced EUV source based on detailed experimental database gives us the prediction of optimal plasma conditions and their suitable laser conditions for different target materials (tin, xenon and lithium). With keeping etendue limit the optimal plasma size is determined by an appropriate optical depth which can be controlled by the combination of laser wavelength and pulse width. The most promising candidate is tin (Sn) plasma heated by Nd:YAG laser with a pulse width of a few ns. Therefore the generation technology of clean Sn plasma is a current important subject to be resolved for practical use. For this purpose we have examined the feasibility of laser-driven rocket-like injection of extremely mass-limited Sn or SnO2 (punched-out target) with a speed exceeding 100m/s. Such a mass-limited low-density target is most preferable for substantial reduction of ion energy compared with usual bulk target. For high average power EUV generation we are developing a laser system which is CW laser diode pumped Nd:YAG ceramic laser (master oscillator and power amplifier system) operating at 5-10 kHz repetition rate. The design of practical laser for EUV source is being carried out based on the recent performance of >1 kW output power.

COMPARISON OF SURFACE AND INTERNAL LASER IRRADIATION OF SOLID PROPELLANT FOR PROPULSION

Laser propulsion mechanism has been studied using a double layered target. Laser ablation is used to generate thrust. Momentum coupling coefficient has been enhanced by at least an order of magnitude. The momentum and temporal profile of force exerted on the targets are measured using pendulum and piezoelectric sensors. It was found that momentum generation from the double layered target exhibits two components. High momentum coupling coefficient is due to the second component which carries large amount of mass with very low velocity.