This report presents the conceptual design of a new European research infrastructure EuPRAXIA. The concept has been established over the last four years in a unique collaboration of 41 laboratories within a Horizon 2020 design study funded by the European Union. EuPRAXIA is the first European project that develops a dedicated particle accelerator research infrastructure based on novel plasma acceleration concepts and laser technology. It focuses on the development of electron accelerators and underlying technologies, their user communities, and the exploitation of existing accelerator infrastructures in Europe. EuPRAXIA has involved, amongst others, the international laser community and industry to build links and bridges with accelerator science — through realising synergies, identifying disruptive ideas, innovating, and fostering knowledge exchange. The Eu-PRAXIA project aims at the construction of an innovative electron accelerator using laser- and electron-beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration that offers a significant reduction in size and possible savings in cost over current state-of-the-art radiofrequency-based accelerators. The foreseen electron energy range of one to five gigaelectronvolts (GeV) and its performance goals will enable versatile applications in various domains, e.g. as a compact free-electron laser (FEL), compact sources for medical imaging and positron generation, table-top test beams for particle detectors, as well as deeply penetrating X-ray and gamma-ray sources for material testing. EuPRAXIA is designed to be the required stepping stone to possible future plasma-based facilities, such as linear colliders at the high-energy physics (HEP) energy frontier. Consistent with a high-confidence approach, the project includes measures to retire risk by establishing scaled technology demonstrators. This report includes preliminary models for project implementation, cost and schedule that would allow operation of the full Eu-PRAXIA facility within 8—10 years.

With a time resolution of 33 μs, the gas temperature in a pulsed dc air plasma admixed with 0.8% NO has been measured by quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy (QCLAS). For this purpose, the temperature dependent intensity ratios of two absorption structures of NO at 1900 cm −1 (5.26 μm) have been used. The QCLAS system worked in the Intra Pulse Mode with a pulse repetition frequency of 30 kHz leading to a spectrum recorded each 33 μs. In a low pressure discharge, the influence of nonlinear absorption phenomena causing strong distorted absorption structures of NO has been taken into account by a calibration routine based on tabulated line strengths. Different mean plasma currents have been applied to the discharge leading to gas temperature values ranging from about 300 K up to about 500 K.

The recent availability of thermoelectrically cooled pulsed and continuous wave quantum and inter-band cascade lasers in the mid-infrared spectral region has led to significant improvements and new developments in chemical sensing techniques using in-situ laser absorption spectroscopy for plasma diagnostic purposes. The aim of this article is therefore two-fold: (i) to summarize the challenges which arise in the application of quantum cascade lasers in such environments, and, (ii) to provide an overview of recent spectroscopic results (encompassing cavity enhanced methods) obtained in different kinds of plasma used in both research and industry.

The surface of a Pyrex discharge tube was treated by a capacitively coupled RF plasma at low pressure. In cases where the plasma contained oxygen, O atoms deposition on the tube surface could be confirmed via the time-dependent conversion of NO to NO 2 in a post-plasma experiment. Inside the discharge tube, the evolution of the concentrations of NO and of NO 2 was measured using quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy in the mid-infrared spectral range. The surface density of atomic oxygen was estimated to be about 2 × 10 14 cm −2 based on NO oxidation in the closed reactor. The production rate of NO 2 is in the range of 2 × 10 11 molecules cm −3 s −1 .

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A compact and transportable three channel quantum cascade laser system (TRIPLE Q) based on mid-infrared absorption spectroscopy has been developed for time-resolved plasma diagnostics. The TRIPLE Q spectrometer encompasses three independently controlled quantum cascade lasers (QCLs), which can be used for chemical sensing, particularly for gas phase analysis of plasmas. All three QCLs are operated in the intra-pulse mode with typical pulse lengths of the order of 150 ns. Using a multiplexed detection, a time resolution shorter than 1 μs can be achieved. Hence, the spectrometer is well suited to study kinetic processes of multiple infrared active compounds in reactive plasmas. A special data processing and analysis technique has been established to account for time jitter effects of the infrared emission of the QCLs. The performance of the TRIPLE Q system has been validated in pulsed direct current plasmas containing N(2)O/air and NO(2)/air.

Dielectric etching plasma processes for modern interlevel dielectrics become more and more complex by the introduction of new ultra low-k dielectrics. One challenge is the minimization of sidewall damage, while etching ultra low-k porous SiCOH by fluorocarbon plasmas. The optimization of this process requires a deeper understanding of the concentration of the CF2 radical, which acts as precursor in the polymerization of the etch sample surfaces. In an industrial dielectric etching plasma reactor, the CF2 radical was measured in situ using a continuous wave quantum cascade laser (cw-QCL) around 1106.2 cm(-1). We measured Doppler-resolved ro-vibrational absorption lines and determined absolute densities using transitions in the nu(3) fundamental band of CF2 with the aid of an improved simulation of the line strengths. We found that the CF2 radical concentration during the etching plasma process directly correlates to the layer structure of the etched wafer. Hence, this correlation can serve as a diagnostic tool of dielectric etching plasma processes. Applying QCL based absorption spectroscopy opens up the way for advanced process monitoring and etching controlling in semiconductor manufacturing

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