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In this work, a new diagnostic tool for laser-produced plasmas (LPPs) is presented. The detector is based on a multiple array of six motorized Langmuir probes. It allows to measure the dynamics of a LPP in terms of charged particles detection with particular attention to droplet-based LPP sources for EUV lithography. The system design permits to temporally resolve the angular and radial plasma charge distribution and to obtain a hemispherical mapping of the ions and electrons around the droplet plasma. The understanding of these dynamics is fundamental to improve the debris mitigation techniques for droplet-based LPP sources. The device has been developed, built, and employed at the Laboratory for Energy Conversion, ETH Zürich. The experimental results have been obtained on the droplet-based LPP source ALPS II. For the first time, 2D mappings of the ion kinetic energy distribution around the droplet plasma have been obtained with an array of multiple Langmuir probes. These measurements show an anisotropic expansion of the ions in terms of kinetic energy and amount of ion charge around the droplet target. First estimations of the plasma density and electron temperature were also obtained from the analysis of the probe current signals.

Articles you may be interested inA hemispherical Langmuir probe array detector for angular resolved measurements on droplet-based laserproduced plasmas Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85, 093302 (2014);

The spectral emission properties of a droplet-based laser-produced plasma are investigated in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) range. Measurements are performed with a spectrograph that operates from 30 to 180 nm with a spectral resolution of 0.1 nm. The emission spectra are recorded for different metal droplet targets, namely tin, indium, and gallium. Measurements were performed at different pressure levels of the background gas. Several characteristic emission lines are observed. The spectra are also calibrated in intensity in terms of spectral radiance to allow absolute emission power estimations from the light source in the VUV region. The presented experimental results are relevant for alternative light sources that would be needed for future wafer inspection tools. In addition, the experimental results help to determine the out-of-band radiation emission of a tin-based extreme ultraviolet (EUV) source. By tuning the type of fuel, the laser energies, and the background gas, the laser-produced plasma light source shows good capabilities to be operated as a light source that covers a spectral emission range from the EUV to the sub-200 nm range.