Development of soft x-ray laser irradiation beamline for ablation and damage study

In this paper, we report on development of the soft x-ray laser (SXRL) irradiation system at QST. The SXRL has a wavelength of 13.9 nm, and this laser wavelength is close to the exposure wavelength of 13.5 nm for the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. The irradiation system has an intensity monitor based on the Mo/Si multilayer beam splitter. This intensity monitor provides the irradiation energy onto sample surface. So it is possible to examine and confirm damage/ablation thresholds of EUV optical elements and doses for sensitivity of resist materials, which have the same specifications of those in the EUV lithography