Dec 22 2010
The laser engraving process, which is used by semiconductor wafer producers to engrave small features onto a wafer, is eventually controlled by the wavelength of the laser light. The semiconductor industry is working on this basic limit to improve the microchip’s speed.
Scientists at the Purdue University have developed a new extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light source in the 13.5 nm range that can overcome the limitation by decreasing the size of the feature by an order of magnitude or so.
False-color images of the tin and lithium plasma plumes in EUV emission through a 7 to 15 nm filter, obtained under identical conditions.
According to Ryan Coons, a research student at the Purdue University, hitting lithium and tin targets with laser rays is one of the methods to generate powerful light with the wavelength of 13.5 nm range.
Coons and his classmates have employed a Faraday cup and a spectroscopy to study the characteristics of the emission and wastes formed during the production of lithium and tin plasmas produced by the laser. Other members of the group have created a model for the physical procedures of the demonstration.
The group’s comparison study on the emission characteristics and laser-generated ionic and atomic wastes of lithium and tin plasmas proved that tin plasmas generate two-fold amount of emission as that of lithium. However, tin ions have lower flux but higher kinetic energy. Still, more research is required to perfect this technology.