Sub-70 nm resolution tabletop microscopy at 138 nm using a compact laser–plasma EUV source

Abstract

We report the first (to our knowledge) demonstration of a tabletop, extreme UV (EUV) transmission microscope at 13.8 nm wavelength with a spatial (half-pitch) resolution of 69 nm. In the experiment, a compact laser-plasma EUV source based on a gas puff target is applied to illuminate an object. A multilayer ellipsoidal mirror is used to focus quasi-monochromatic EUV radiation onto the object, while a Fresnel zone plate objective forms the image. The experiment and the spatial resolution measurements, based on a knife-edge test, are described. The results might be useful for the realization of a compact high-resolution tabletop imaging systems for actinic defect characterization.