ERC for Extreme Ultraviolet Science and Technology

The strategic plan for the ERC research is designed to realize its vision: to make EUV light sources widely accessible and useful for solving challenging scientific and technological problems. To accomplish this, a major coordinated effort in three areas is being pursued:
Thrust 1: Engineered EUV Sources: the development of compact, cost-effective, coherent EUV light sources that provide unique capabilities.
Essential to the success of the EUV ERC strategic plan is the development of compact and cost effective sources of coherent EUV light with significantly improved capabilities. Two complimentary approaches are being pursued: High Order Harmonic Generation and EUV Lasers.
During the first year of the EUV ERC significant progress was made in decreasing the size of the coherent EUV light source testbeds, and in extending their operation to shorter wavelengths.Thrust 2: Imaging, Patterning and Metrology: applications of EUV light sources.
In this thrust we are exploiting the short wavelength and high coherent attributes of the EUV laser output to implement testbeds for EUV imaging, patterning and metrology. Present activities involve EUV and soft x-ray microscopy, EUV interferometry, EUV print exposures and EUV holographic lithography.
Critical to the use of compact EUV sources in these application testbeds is the development of EUV optical components. Available to the ERC are unique nanofabrication facilities at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Center for X-Ray Optics and high quality EUV mirror coating facilities at several of the core institutions.
These efforts provide evidence of the great potential of EUV light in support of nanotechnology.
Thrust 3: Novel Linear and Non-Linear Spectroscopies: contributions to fundamental knowledge in laser and EUV science and technology, optics, and plasma physics.
The EUV region of the spectrum is used by thousands of scientists for element-specific and surface-specific spectroscopies. New, small-scale, EUV sources will make it possible to implement many techniques currently done at large-scale facilities in individual research labs. Furthermore, given the short-pulse nature of these EUV sources (femtosecond for the HHG sources), new opportunities will arise for extending techniques such as photoelectron spectroscopy into the time domain, and for exploring nonlinear-optical properties of matter in a new region of the spectrum.
We are constructing testbeds that will use the compact EUV sources developed at the Center to study challenging scientific problems. In the longer-term, our strategic plan is to develop small-scale analytical instruments for a wide range of applications. In the initial year of the EUV ERC, we are working to implement the following testbed systems to demonstrate the utility of small-scale EUV sources.
Deliverables resulting from the center’s research work will include:
- Integrated EUV systems that will demonstrate EUV technology can provide unique solutions to challenging problems in science and in nanotechnology;
- Small-scale EUV source systems that overcome the size/cost source barriers that currently limit the widespread use of EUV radiation;
- Valuable fundamental knowledge in areas that include optics, laser science and plasma physics.
- The successful realizations of the main goals of the research plan will result in enabling EUV practical tools and techniques that could revolutionize numerous aspects of science and technology and spawn new industries.