KLA Corporation
System and Method for Vacuum Ultraviolet Lamp Assisted Ignition of Oxygen-Containing Laser Sustained Plasma Sources

Abstract:

An illumination system includes a gas containment vessel configured to contain a gas. The illumination system also includes one or more pump sources configured to generate one or more pump beams. The illumination system includes an ozone generation unit including one or more illumination sources. The one or more illumination sources are configured to generate a beam of illumination of an energy sufficient for converting a portion of diatomic oxygen (O.sub.2) contained within the gas containment vessel to triatomic oxygen (O.sub.3). One or more energy sources are configured to ignite the plasma within the gas contained within the gas containment vessel via absorption of energy of the one or more energy sources by a portion of the triatomic oxygen, wherein the plasma emits broadband radiation.