HIGH BRIGHTNESS X-RAY SOURCES FOR X-RAY LITHOGRAPHY

LASER DRIVEN PLASMA SOURCES ARE POTENTIAL X-RAY SOURCES FOR MICROLITHOGRAPHIC APPLICATIONS. UNFORTUNATELY, TO DATE, THESE PLASMA SOURCES HAVE NOT PRODUCED THE X-RAY INTENSITIES REQUIRED FOR LARGE SCALE MANUFACTURING. CHIRPED PULSE AMPLIFICATION, AN INNOVATIVE LASER ARCHITECTURE CONCEPT, COMPATIBLE WITH MOST SOLID STATE SOURCES, IS CAPABLE OF INCREASING THE PEAK POWER OF SMALL LASER SYSTEMS ONE THOUSAND FOLD. THIS PHASE I PROGRAM WILL QUANTITATIVELY EVALUATE THE ONE TO THREE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE CAPABILITY ENHANCEMENT ANTICIPATED FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF CHIRPED PULSE AMPLIFICATION IN THE DESIGN OF X-RAY LITHOGRAPHIC SOURCES. IN PARTICULAR, WE WILL ANALYZE: 1. THE UPGRADING OF EXISTING LASER-DRIVEN PLASMA SOURCES AND, 2. THE SYNERGISM RESULTING FROM THE COMBINED USE OF ADVANCED SOLID-STATE GAIN MEDIA WITH CHIRPED PULSE AMPLIFICATION. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS - THROUGH THE USE OF CHIRPED PULSE AMPLIFICATION (CPA), WE WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCE THE X-RAY INTENSITIES PRODUCED BY LASER-DRIVEN PLASMA SOURCES. CPA BASED SOLID-STATE LASERS CAN MEET THE INDUSTRY THROUGHPUT REQUIREMENT AND ARE A COMPACT ALTERNATIVE TO SYNCHROTRON-BASED SOURCES. KEY WORDS - X-RAY SOURCE, X-RAY LITHOGRAPHY, SOLID-STATE LASER, CHIRPED PULSE AMPLIFICATION.