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Gigaphoton Develops Helium-Free Laser Purge Process

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Gigaphoton recently announced two advancements for lithography lasers: a helium-free purge process and a high-power laser prototype.

The helium-free purge process for argon-fluorine (ArF) immersion lasers uses nitrogen, an abundant gas the company said maintains laser performance equivalent to helium.

One laser unit consumes approximately 80-160 kl of helium per year and all the laser light sources operating worldwide consume approximately 100,000 kl of helium annually, the company said. Helium is a rare gas, amounting to 5.2 ppm by volume in the atmosphere. If current consumption levels continue unchanged, depletion of the world’s helium supply is anticipated in approximately 25 years.

In addition to the new purge process, Gigaphoton has also prototyped a 92 W laser-produced plasma (LPP) extreme ultraviolet light source, which it said is a step toward its goal of creating a 250 W source for high-volume manufacturing.

The company said the device has a 4.2 percent conversion efficiency. It generates extreme UV light by radiating tin droplets less than 20 µm in diameter with a solid-state pre-pulse laser and main pulse CO2 laser.

For more information, visit www.gigaphoton.com.
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Published: June 2014
Glossary
extreme ultraviolet
Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) refers to a specific range of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. EUV radiation has wavelengths between 10 and 124 nanometers, which corresponds to frequencies in the range of approximately 2.5 petahertz to 30 exahertz. This range is shorter in wavelength and higher in frequency compared to the far-ultraviolet and vacuum ultraviolet regions. Key points about EUV include: Source: EUV radiation is produced by extremely hot and energized...
lithography
Lithography is a key process used in microfabrication and semiconductor manufacturing to create intricate patterns on the surface of substrates, typically silicon wafers. It involves the transfer of a desired pattern onto a photosensitive material called a resist, which is coated onto the substrate. The resist is then selectively exposed to light or other radiation using a mask or reticle that contains the pattern of interest. The lithography process can be broadly categorized into several...
ArFAsia-PacificBusinessextreme ultravioletGigaphotonheliumHigh-Volume Manufacturingindustriallaser-produced plasmaLight SourceslithographyLPPnitrogenpurgehelium-free purge processargon-fluorineimmersion lasersLasers

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