The next Physics Colloquium will take place on October 29, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. (c.t.). Prof. Dr. Richard Engeln is an associate professor in the “Plasma and Materials Processing” research group at the Institute of Applied Physics at Eindhoven University of Technology and conducts research at ASML. He will give a presentation on “Unravelling EUV-Induced Hydrogen Plasma.”
Abstract by Prof. Engeln:
ASML’s latest lithography systems use 13.5 nm extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light to enable increasingly smaller semiconductor features. This light is generated by irradiating tin droplets with a pulsedCO2 laser, producing a tin plasma at a repetition rate of 50 kHz. The emitted EUV light is directed into the scanner, where it patterns resist-coated wafers. To optimize scanner conditions, hydrogen gas is introduced at pressures of a few pascals. As EUV photons propagate through the scanner’s hydrogen background gas, a low-density yet highly reactive plasma is generated. The resulting plasma ions, radicals, and photons strongly influence processes at critical scanner surfaces. The atomic and molecular ion densities depend heavily on the densities of neutral species through rapid charge-exchange (CE) and dissociative-attachment (DA) reactions. At ASML Research, we combine experimental and modeling efforts to characterize EUV-induced hydrogen plasmas in terms of the densities and fluxes of plasma-generated species. During the presentation, I will highlight several of our ongoing experimental efforts.
Prof. Dr. Ir. Jean-Pierre H. van Helden provides an introduction to the lecture.
The Department cordially Department all interested parties. The event will take place in Lecture Hall HZO 20.
Photo: EUV lithography systems – Products © ASML