High power extreme ultra-violet (EUV) light sources for future lithography

Extreme ultra-violet (EUV) lithography is most likely to be used for the production of semiconductors from 2009. One of the potential showstoppers in the commercialization is the availability of a compact high power source. This paper discusses the latest developments on the different kinds of plasma-based EUV sources. The progress of laser-produced plasmas seems to be limited as they are roughly at the same level as in 2000. In the field of gas discharges and vacuum arcs, a huge improvement in output power and in lifetime has been made recently. Vacuum arcs, especially, seem to offer the possibility of meeting the specifications for high-volume manufacturing.