Richard M. Foster

High-power x-ray point source for next-generation lithography

An x-ray power of 2.8 Watts at the 1 nm x-ray lithography wavelength was generated by a copper plasma formed by a single laser beam focused to an intensity of greater than 1014 W/cm2 on a copper tape target. The all solid state BritelightTM YAG laser has 700 ps pulse duration, 300 Hz pulse repetition rate, average power of 75 Watts, and less than 2 times diffraction limited beam quality at the fundamental 1.064 micrometer wavelength. The single beam laser system has a master oscillator, a preamplifier and one power amplifier, all diode pumped. Measurements confirmed negligible copper vapor debris at 8 cm from the laser-plasma source with atmospheric pressure He gas and modest gas flow. The point source x-ray radiation was collimated with either a polycapillary or grazing mirror collimator. The near-parallel beam of x-rays has good divergence both globally (0.5 mrad) and locally (less than 3 mrad), good uniformity (2% achievable goal) and large uniform field size (20 mm X 20 mm full field and 25 mm X 36 mm scanning system). High-resolution lithography was performed for the first time with collimated 1 nm point source x-rays. A power scaling system is being built with eight amplified beams in parallel on the x-ray target, and is expected to achieve 24 - 30 Watts of x-rays. A 16 beam laser plasma x-ray lithography system could achieve a throughput of 24 wafer levels per hour using 300 mm diameter wafers.

High-power laser-plasma x-ray source for lithography

A compact x-ray source radiates 24 Watts average power of 1nm x-rays in 2 (pi) steradians. The laser produced plasma x-ray source has a 300 W laser driver which is a compact, diode-pumped solid-state Nd:YAG laser system. The x-ray conversion efficiency is 9 percent of the laser power delivered on target. The x-ray source was used to demonstrate x-ray lithography of 75 nm lines. The x-ray source is optimized for integration with a x-ray stepper to provide a complete x-ray lithography exposure tool for the manufacture of high-speed GaAs devices.

Microfocus soft x-ray source generated by a compact high-power laser plasma

A high power picosecond soft x-ray source is generated by a compact, modular, diode pumped solid state laser BriteLightTM. Three x-ray source version are constructed from laser modules with increasing power. The power of the x-ray sources is tailored to potential applications. The building block of such a modular system is a 3 Watt x-ray power source with 1.1 keV x-ray photon energy. The laser system is very compact with dimensions of 4 ft X 3 ft X 1 fit. It is composed of a laser master oscillator, pre-amplifier and one power amplifier. A four laser amplifier system was also constructed in order to generate 12 W of x-rays for application to x-ray lithography.

High-Power Compact Laser-Plasma Source for X-ray Lithography

A compact laser-produced plasma X-ray source that radiates 1 nm X-rays with an average power of 24 W in 2π steradians is presented. The X-ray conversion efficiency is 9% of the laser power delivered on target. The 300 W laser power is generated by a compact diode-pumped, solid-state Nd:YAG laser system. The X-ray source was used to demonstrate X-ray lithography of 75 nm lines. The X-ray source is optimized for integration with an X-ray stepper to provide a complete X-ray lithography exposure tool for the manufacture of high-speed GaAs devices.

Compact high power laser-plasma X-ray source for lithography

Summary form only given. A compact laser produced plasma X-ray source generates 24 Watts average power of 1.1 nm X-rays in 2/spl pi/ steradians. The laser-plasma source is driven by a compact, diode-pumped, solid-state 300 Watt Nd:YAG laser system.

Compact high-power laser-plasma x-ray source for lithography

A compact laser produced plasma x-ray source radiates 24 Watts average power of 1nm x-rays in 2(pi) steradians. The x-ray power conversion efficiency is 9% from the laser average power focused on the x-ray target. The laser-plasma x-ray source is generated by a 300W compact, diode-pumped, solid-state Nd:YAG laser system. The tabletop laser system is constructed on a 4ft x 8ft optical bench and the laser modules are 1ft high. The total wall-plug power consumption for this laser-produced-plasma x-ray source is 22 kW. The x-ray source is optimized for integration with and x-ray stepper to provide a complete x-ray lithography exposure tool for the manufacture of high speed GaAs devices.