Yuta Sato

Development of a collective Thomson scattering system for laser-produced tin plasmas for extreme-ultraviolet light sources

Spatial profiles of electron density (ne) and electron temperature (Te) of laser-produced Sn plasmas for extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) light sources have been obtained using a new collective Thomson scattering system, which has been optimized for the measurement of the ion feature spectrum. The system has an 18 pm spectral resolution, a 5 ns temporal resolution, a 50 µm spatial resolution, and sufficient stray-light rejection near the probing laser wavelength. With this system, measurements of the laser-produced Sn plasmas in the parameter ranges of 3 × 1023 < ne < 1025 m−3 and 10 < Te < 20 eV have been performed.

Time-resolved two-dimensional profiles of electron density and temperature of laser-produced tin plasmas for extreme-ultraviolet lithography light sources

Time-resolved two-dimensional (2D) profiles of electron density (ne) and electron temperature (Te) of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography light source plasmas were obtained from the ion components of collective Thomson scattering (CTS) spectra. The highest EUV conversion efficiency (CE) of 4% from double pulse lasers irradiating a Sn droplet was obtained by changing their delay time. The 2D-CTS results clarified that for the highest CE condition, a hollow-like density profile was formed, i.e., the high density region existed not on the central axis but in a part with a certain radius. The 2D profile of the in-band EUV emissivity (ηEUV) was theoretically calculated using the CTS results and atomic model (Hullac code), which reproduced a directly measured EUV image reasonably well. The CTS results strongly indicated the necessity of optimizing 2D plasma profiles to improve the CE in the future.

Spatial profiles of electron density, electron temperature, average ionic charge, and EUV emission of laser-produced Sn plasmas for EUV lithography

Spatial profiles of the electron density (n e), electron temperature (T e), and average ionic charge (Z) of laser-produced Sn plasmas for EUV lithography, whose conversion efficiency (CE) is sufficiently high for practical use, were measured using a collective Thomson scattering (TS) technique. For plasma production, Sn droplets of 26 µm diameter were used as a fuel. First, a picosecond-pulsed laser was used to expand a Sn target. Next, a CO2 laser was used to generate plasmas. By changing the injection timing of the picosecond and CO2 lasers, three different types of plasmas were generated. The CEs of the three types of plasmas differed, and ranged from 2.8 to 4.0%. Regarding the different plasma conditions, the spatial profiles of n e, T e, and Z clearly differed. However, under all plasma conditions, intense EUV was only observed at a sufficiently high T e (> 25 eV) and in an adequate n e range [1024–(2 × 1025) m−3]. These plasma parameters lie in the efficient-EUV light source range, as predicted by simulations.

Electron density change of atmospheric-pressure plasmas in helium flow depending on the oxygen/nitrogen ratio of the surrounding atmosphere

Laser Thomson scattering was applied to an atmospheric-pressure plasma produced in a helium (He) gas flow for measuring the spatial profiles of electron density (n e) and electron temperature (T e). Aside from the He core flow, the shielding gas flow of N2 or synthesized air () surrounding the He flow was introduced to evaluate the effect of ambient gas components on the plasma parameters, eliminating the effect of ambient humidity. The n e at the discharge center was 2.7 × 1021 m−3 for plasma generated with N2/O2 shielding gas, 50% higher than that generated with N2 shielding.

Bias and gate-tunable gas sensor response originating from modulation in Schottky barrier height of graphene/MoS2 van der Waals heterojunction

We report on the gas-sensing characteristics of a van der Waals heterojunction consisting of graphene and a MoS2 flake. To extract the response actually originating from the heterojunction area, the other gas-sensitive parts were passivated by gas barrier layers. The graphene/MoS2 heterojunction device demonstrated a significant change in resistance, by a factor of greater than 103, upon exposure to 1 ppm NO2 under a reverse-bias condition, which was revealed to be a direct reflection of the modulation of the Schottky barrier height at the graphene/MoS2 interface. The magnitude of the response demonstrated strong dependences on the bias and back-gate voltages. The response further increased with increasing reverse bias. Conversely, it dramatically decreased when measured at a large forward bias or a large positive back-gate voltage. These behaviors were analyzed using a metal-semiconductor-metal diode model consisting of graphene/MoS2 and counter Ti/MoS2 Schottky diodes.

Spherical shock in the presence of an external magnetic field

We investigate spherical collisionless shocks in the presence of an external magnetic field. Spherical collisionless shocks are common resultant of interactions between a expanding plasma and a surrounding plasma, such as the solar wind, stellar winds, and supernova remnants. Anisotropies often observed in shock propagations and their emissions, and it is widely believed a magnetic field plays a major role. Since the local observations of magnetic fields in astrophysical plasmas are not accessible, laboratory experiments provide unique capability to investigate such phenomena. We model the spherical shocks in the universe by irradiating a solid spherical target surrounded by a plasma in the presence of a magnetic field. We present preliminary results obtained by shadowgraphy.