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.