At Laser-Laboratorium Göttingen laser-plasma sources were tested, which are going to be used for characterization of optical components and sensoric devices in the wavelength region from 11 to 13 nm. In all cases extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation is generated by focusing a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser into a pulsed gas puff target. By the use of xenon or oxygen as target gas, broadband as well as narrowband EUV radiation is obtained, respectively. Different types of valves and nozzles were tested in order to optimize the emitted radiation with respect to maximum EUV intensities, small source diameters, and positional stability. The investigation of these crucial source parameters was performed with specially designed EUV pinhole cameras, utilizing evaluation algorithms developed for standardized laser beam characterization. In addition, a rotatable pinhole camera was developed which allows both spatially and angular resolved monitoring of the soft x-ray emission characteristics. With the help of this camera a strong angular dependence of the EUV intensity was found. The data were compared with fluorescence measurements for visualization of the target gas jet. The experimental observations can be explained by reabsorption of the generated EUV radiation in the surrounding target gas, as supported by semiempirical model calculations based on the attenuation in the three-dimensional gas density according to Lambert–Beer’s law. As a consequence of the presented investigations, an optimization of the EUV source with respect to intensity, plasma shape, and angular dependence is achieved, resulting in a spherical plasma of 200 μm diameter and a 50% increase of the EUV pulse energy.
A table top extreme ultraviolet (EUV)-source was developed at Laser-Laboratorium Göttingen for the characterization of optical components and sensoric devices in the wavelength region from 11 to 13 nm. EUV radiation is generated by focusing the beam of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser into a pulsed xenon gas jet. Since a directed gas jet with a high number density is needed for an optimal performance of the source, conical nozzles with different cone angles were drilled with an excimer laser to produce a supersonic gas jet. The influence of the nozzle geometry on the gas jet was characterized with a Hartmann-Shack wave front sensor. The deformation of a planar wave front after passing the gas jet was analyzed with this sensor, allowing a reconstruction of the gas density distribution. Thus, the gas jet was optimized resulting in an increase of EUV emission by a factor of two and a decrease of the plasma size at the same time.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.