Plasma enhanced co oxidation in EUV drive lasers

During operation of CO₂ drive lasers up to 60% of the CO₂ decomposes into CO. Gold can be used as a catalyst to reduce this decomposition to around 40%. CO₂ decomposition has a significant impact on laser efficiency and EUV production. Moreover, free O radicals create parasitic species such as Ox and NOx compounds. It is hypothesized that a secondary plasma source near the catalyst will increase O concentration near the catalytic surface, increasing the rate of CO oxidation. Species concentrations are measured using OES as a function of plasma power, gas mixture, and gas flow speed. The effect of an auxiliary surface wave plasma source is reported for tests with a heterogeneous gold catalyst installed.