Extreme ultraviolet radiation
Extreme ultraviolet radiation ( EUV , EUV radiation , English extreme ultra violet , XUV ) describes the spectral range between 10 nm and 121 nm. This corresponds to photon energies between about 10.25 eV and 124 eV. EUV thus describes a range of electromagnetic radiation at the border with X-rays that overlaps with vacuum ultraviolet radiation (10–200 nm, also 100–200 nm).
Alternative definitions
In addition to the definition mentioned, there are other, less common definitions:
- the lower limit wavelength is 30 nm or
- the upper limit wavelength
- the ionization potential of an oxygen molecule (O 2 ) at 102.7 nm,
- the transmission limit of magnesium fluoride (MgF 2 ) at 115 nm or
- the emission wavelength of the Lyman α transition is set at 121.6 nm.
The abbreviation XUV is also associated with the English name extreme ultra violet . According to ISO 21348, however, XUV (0.1–10 nm) denotes the spectral range of ultraviolet radiation that overlaps with soft X-ray radiation.
application
The EUV lithography is in semiconductor technology currently a candidate for the succession of photolithography and should enable the production of future microelectronic circuits. Internationally, the R&D departments and institutes involved have agreed on a central wavelength of 13.5 nm . Usually only a bandwidth of approx. 2% can be used for lithography. The semiconductor industry plans to commercially manufacture chips with EUV radiation from around 2019. A group from NIST in the USA is also involved in this research.
Due to its short wavelength and strong interaction with matter, EUV radiation offers the potential of analysis and structure generation with nanometer resolution and typically several hundred nanometers penetration depth .