Fluid jet electric discharge source
US7034322B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 7, 2001 |
| Grant date | Apr 25, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 9, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG03F7/70016
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A fluid jet or filament source and a pair of coaxial high voltage electrodes, in combination, comprise an electrical discharge system to produce radiation and, in particular, EUV radiation. The fluid jet source is composed of at least two serially connected reservoirs, a first reservoir into which a fluid, that can be either a liquid or a gas, can be fed at some pressure higher than atmospheric and a second reservoir maintained at a lower pressure than the first. The fluid is allowed to expand through an aperture into a high vacuum region between a pair of coaxial electrodes. This second expansion produces a narrow well-directed fluid jet whose size is dependent on the size and configuration of the apertures and the pressure used in the reservoir. At some time during the flow of the fluid filament, a high voltage pulse is applied to the electrodes to excite the fluid to form a plasma which provides the desired radiation; the wavelength of the radiation being determined by the composition of the fluid.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.