Power scaling of an extreme ultraviolet light source for future lithography

For future lithography applications, high-power extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light sources are needed at a central wavelength of 13.5 nm within 2% bandwidth. We have demonstrated that from a physics point of view the Philips alpha-prototype source concept is scalable up to the power levels required for high-volume manufacturing (HVM) purposes. Scalability is shown both in frequency, up to 100 kHz, and pulse energy, up to 55 mJ collectable EUV per pulse, which allows us to find an optimal working point for future HVM sources within a wide parameter space. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.