The emission spectra of hydrogen-like nitrogen Balmer at the wavelength of 13.4 nm in capillary Z-pinch discharge plasma are experimentally examined. Ionization to fully strip nitrogen at the pinch maximum, and subsequent rapid expansion cooling are required to establish the population inversion between the principal quantum number of n ¼ 2 and n ¼ 3. The ionization and recombination processes with estimated plasma parameters are evaluated by utilizing a time integrated spectrum pinhole image containing radial spatial information. A cylindrical capillary plasma is pinched by a triangular pulsed current with peak amplitude of 50 kA and pulse width of 50 ns. V C 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.

Abstract. Discharge produced plasma (DPP) is a promising tool to generate effective extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light. A hydrogen-like nitrogen ion emits light at 13.4 nm with an optical allowed atomic transition from n = 3 to 2, where n stands for a principal quantum number. We focus on the properties of population inversion between n =3 and 2 in recombining phase. Population inversion is calculated in the framework of population kinetics, and a gain coefficient G is estimated. In this study, dielectronic-capture ladderlike (DL) processes are included. At high density and low temperature, the DL deexcitations make a large contribution to the population inversion.

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