Heating dynamics and extreme ultraviolet radiation emission of laser-produced Sn plasmas

The impact of 1.064 mu m laser absorption depth on the heating and in-band (2% bandwidth) 13.5 nm extreme ultraviolet emissions in Sn plasmas is investigated experimentally and numerically. In-band emission lasting longer than the laser pulse and separation between the laser absorption and in-band emission region are observed. Maximum efficiency is achieved by additional heating of the core of the plasma to allow the optimal temperature to expand to a lower and more optically thin density. This leads to higher temperature plasma that emits less in-band light as compared to CO2 produced plasma sources for the same application. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3458696]