Search

A simple and selective new technique for atomic hydrogen flux measurements in a hydrogen plasma environment is introduced and demonstrated in this work. This technique works by measuring the etching rate of an amorphous carbon film and translating this to an incoming hydrogen radical flux through a well-defined carbon etch yield per radical. Ions present in the plasma environment have a much higher etch yield than radicals do. For that reason, suppression of the ion flux toward the carbon film is crucial to ensure that the observed carbon etch rate is dominated by atomic hydrogen etching. It is demonstrated that this can be achieved using a simple cylindrical pipe (hereinafter "chimney") in which a bend is introduced to enforce ion–wall collisions, neutralizing the ions. The chimney is made out of Macor, a material with low catalytic surface activity, to preserve the incoming atomic hydrogen flux while effectively suppressing ions. Ultimately, the etching sensor is deployed in a radio frequency inductively coupled hydrogen plasma operated at low pressure (1–10 Pa). Atomic hydrogen fluxes are measured and compared with heat flux sensor and vacuum ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy measurements in the same setup. All sensors agreed within a factor 4 in the atomic hydrogen flux range 1019 to 1021 m−2 s−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ion emission of a Sn-based discharge produced extreme ultraviolet producing plasma is characterized with the combined use of different time-of-flight techniques. An electrostatic ion spectrometer is employed to measure the average charge distribution of the emitted Sn ions. A dedicated Faraday cup configuration is used to measure the total ion flux from the source for different discharge energies. High-energy Sn ions emitted by the plasma with energies up to 100 keV have been identified. The number of high-energy ions increases for higher electrical input energy into the plasma while the signal associated with the expanding plasma ions does not show such dependence. The ion energy distribution for a bulk of detected ions is calculated based on the Faraday cup measurements and compared with theoretical plasma expansion dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origin and nature of the high-energy ions emitted by a discharge produced plasma source are studied using gated pinhole camera imaging. Time-of-flight analysis in combination with Faraday cup measurements enables characterization of the high-velocity component of the ionic debris. The use of an optional magnetic field allows mass-to-charge analysis of the first part of the Faraday cup signal. It is shown that this consists mainly of oxygen ions emitted from a region near the cathode. Time-resolved images of Sn ions with a kinetic energy of 45 keV visualize the regions in between the electrodes where the high-energy ion generation takes place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future generation lithography tools will use extreme ultraviolet radiation to enable the printing of sub-50 nanometer features on silicon wafers. The extreme ultraviolet radiation, coming from a pulsed discharge, photoionizes the low pressure background gas in the tool. A weakly ionized plasma is formed, which will be in contact with the optical components of the lithography device. In the plasma sheath region ions will be accelerated towards the surfaces of multilayer mirrors. A self-consistent kinetic particle-in-cell model has been applied to describe a radiation driven plasma. The simulations predict the plasma parameters and notably the energy at which ions impact on the plasma boundaries. We have studied the influence of photoelectron emission from the mirror on the sheath dynamics and on the ion impact energy. Furthermore, the ion impact energy distribution has been convoluted with the formula of Yamamura and Tawara [At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 62, 149 (1996)] for the sputter yield to obtain the rate of physical sputtering. The model predicts that the sputter rate is dominated by the presence of doubly ionized argon ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the introduction of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography (EUVL), the inevitable presence of EUV-induced plasmas inside the lithography tools impacts the operation of EUV optical components. EUV-induced plasmas are created everywhere in the optical path due to the ionizing interaction between the high energy (92 eV) EUV photons and the tools' background gas, which typically is hydrogen gas at a pressure of 1–10 Pa. From a physical point of view, the main impact of the plasma is due to the presence of ions that imping the plasma-facing surfaces. Experimental research into the fluence and energy distribution functions (IEDFs) of ions from EUV-induced plasmas has been limited to time-averaged measurements. In this Letter, we present time-resolved measurements of IEDFs for H+, H2+, and H3+ ions from an EUV-induced plasma in pure hydrogen gas. To this end, an electrostatic quadrupole plasma (EQP) analyzer has been used. The measurements pinpointed momentary fluxes up to three orders of magnitude higher than earlier reported average ion fluxes. In addition, the mean ion energy was unexpectedly found to remain elevated up to 50 μs after the gas had been irradiated with EUV photons. Also, it was shown that the EQP detects H2+ ions on time scales much larger than expected. The presented results are valuable not only for the understanding of elementary processes regarding EUV-induced plasmas interacting with surfaces but also for simulating and predicting the impact of EUV-induced plasma on the lifetime and stability of optical components in EUVL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operation of Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography scanners inherently goes hand-in-hand with the creation of highly transient pulsed plasmas in the optical path of these tools. These so-called EUV-induced plasmas are created upon photoionization events when a pulsed beam of EUV photons travels through the low pressure background gas. It is fully recognized by the lithography industry that EUV-induced plasmas may significantly impact the quality and life-time of expensive and delicate optical elements in the scanner. Research efforts into EUV-induced plasmas impacting plasma-facing surfaces have so far been limited to pure hydrogen (H2) plasmas. However, this hydrogen background gas may occasionally be diluted with a small fraction of another molecular gas such as nitrogen (N2). The impact on the relevant plasma parameters of such molecular contaminants has remained unknown until now. In this letter, we put forward measurements of energy-resolved fluxes of (positive) hydrogen ions, nitrogen ions, and hydrogen-nitrogen ions created in a pulsed N2-diluted EUV-induced plasma in H2 at approximately 5 Pa (typical EUV lithography scanner conditions). The data have been obtained using an electrostatic quadrupole plasma analyzer and show that although the N2-dilution fraction is small (∼2 × 10−3) compared to the H2 partial pressure, implications for the ion flux out of the plasma and the composition thereof are significant. Since the mass of nitrogen-containing ions is much higher in comparison to that of their hydrogen counterparts, and because of their potential chemical activity, this effect has to be taken into account while studying the surface impact of EUV-induced plasmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new approach for an in-line beam monitor for ionizing radiation was introduced in a recent publication (Beckers J et al 2018 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 52 034004). Due to the recent detection and investigation of an additional third decay regime of the afterglow of an extreme ultraviolet photon-induced plasma described in a later article (Platier B et al 2020 Appl. Phys. Lett. 116 103703) there is an additional reason for a minimum number of photons for this approach to work. Near or below this threshold, we explain that the response time of the diagnostic method is a limiting factor. Further, a second limit for the number of photons within a pulse is formalized related to the trapping of highly energetic free electrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retarding field energy analyzers (RFEAs) are used routinely for the measurement of ion energy distribution functions. By contrast, their ability to measure ion flux densities has been considered unreliable because of lack of knowledge about the effective transmission of the RFEA grids. In this work, we simulate the ion trajectories through a three-gridded RFEA using the simulation software SIMION. Using idealized test cases, it is shown that at high ion energy (i.e., >100 eV) the transmission is equal to the optical transmission rather than the product of the individual grid transparencies. Below 20 eV, ion trajectories are strongly influenced by the electric fields in between the grids. In this region, grid alignment and ion focusing effects contribute to fluctuations in transmission with ion energy. Subsequently the model has been used to simulate the transmission and energy resolution of an experimental RFEA probe. Grid misalignments reduce the transmission fluctuations at low energy. The model predicts the minimum energy resolution, which has been confirmed experimentally by irradiating the probe with a beam of ions with a small energy bandwidth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retarding field energy analyzers (RFEAs) are used routinely for the measurement of ion energy distribution functions. By contrast, their ability to measure ion flux densities has been considered unreliable because of lack of knowledge about the effective transmission of the RFEA grids. In this work, we simulate the ion trajectories through a three-gridded RFEA using the simulation software SIMION. Using idealized test cases, it is shown that at high ion energy (i.e., >100 eV) the transmission is equal to the optical transmission rather than the product of the individual grid transparencies. Below 20 eV, ion trajectories are strongly influenced by the electric fields in between the grids. In this region, grid alignment and ion focusing effects contribute to fluctuations in transmission with ion energy. Subsequently the model has been used to simulate the transmission and energy resolution of an experimental RFEA probe. Grid misalignments reduce the transmission fluctuations at low energy. The model predicts the minimum energy resolution, which has been confirmed experimentally by irradiating the probe with a beam of ions with a small energy bandwidth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reports on the measurements of ion flux composition and ion energy distribution functions (IEDFs) at surfaces in contact with hydrogen plasmas induced by extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation. This special type of plasma is gaining interest from industries because of its appearance in extreme ultraviolet lithography tools, where it affects exposed surfaces. The studied plasma is induced in 5 Pa hydrogen gas by irradiating the gas with short (30 ns) pulses of EUV radiation ( λ = 10–20 nm). Due to the low duty cycle (10–4), the plasma is highly transient. The composition and IEDF are measured using an energy resolved ion mass spectrometer. The total ion flux consists of H + , H 2 + , and H 3 + . H 3 + is the dominant ion as a result of the efficient conversion of H 2 + to H 3 + upon collision with background hydrogen molecules. The IEDFs of H 2 + and H 3 + appear similar, showing a broad distribution with a cut-off energy at approximately 8 eV. In contrast, the IEDF of H+ shows an energetic tail up to 18 eV. Most probably, the ions in this tail gain their energy during their creation process by photoionization and dissociative electron impact ionization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce the level of recorded background radiation in Thomson scattering (TS) experiments, we have designed and built a new setup for time and space resolved subnanosecond TS. Compared to our old setup, the new one is based on a faster camera, a laser with shorter pulse duration, and an optical delay line in the laser path. It has been characterized both by ray-trace simulations of the spectrograph and test experiments using Rayleigh and rotational Raman scattering on atmospheric pressure nitrogen gas. Although it was designed in the first place for experiments on a vacuum arc discharge in tin vapor for production of extreme ultraviolet light, our setup can also be applied to other plasmas that emit high levels of radiation or in which fast phenomena play a role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use Raman spectroscopy to show that exposing few-layer graphene to extreme ultraviolet (EUV, 13.5 nm) radiation, i.e., relatively low photon energy, results in an increasing density of defects. Furthermore, exposure to EUV radiation in a H2 background increases the graphene dosage sensitivity, due to reactions caused by the EUV induced hydrogen plasma. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results show that the sp2 bonded carbon fraction decreases while the sp3 bonded carbon and oxide fraction increases with exposure dose. Our experimental results confirm that even in reducing environment oxidation is still one of the main source of inducing defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]