EUV spectroscopy of ultrafast capillary discharges

The observation of EUV spectra of multiply charged ions excited by an ultrafast capillary discharge suggest the possibility of developing an intense compact source of soft x-ray and EUV radiation for practical applications (EUV lithography, microscopy, etc.). The discharge is driven by a compact water transmission line having a very fast current pulse (12 ns FWHM, rise time similar to 1 ns). Spectra of OV-OVI ions from a polyacetal capillary and ArVII-ArVIII ions from an Ar filled capillary were observed and investigated in a spectral range of 100-300 Angstrom using a l-m grazing incidence spectrograph. The resulting capillary discharge plasmas have an electron temperature of similar to 25-35 eV, which could be increased to similar to 100 eV using a more powerful transmission line.