Abstract:
Colorado State University scientists have found a way to dramatically
improve the quality of laser light at extremely short wavelengths,
according to a paper that was published Sunday online by Nature
Photonics.
Colorado State scientists dramatically improve soft x-ray lasers with discovery
FORT COLLINS, CO | Posted on January 22nd, 2008The
groundbreaking discovery covers very short wavelengths of light near 13
nanometers that are valuable particularly for the semiconductor
manufacturing industry, which aims to develop the next generation of
faster computer chips using that type of light by 2010 or 2011, said
CSU University Distinguished Professor Jorge Rocca, senior author of
the research. Rocca collaborated on the Nature Photonics paper with CSU
colleagues Yong Wang, Brad Luther, Francesco Pedacci, Mark Berrill,
Eduardo Granados and David Alessi.
"The potential applications
are many - ultrahigh resolution microscopy, patterning to make
nanodevices, and semiconductor industry measurements," Rocca said.
"There are many other possibilities that in the future will also
include biology."
The technology involves the generation of
short wavelength light in the extreme ultraviolet or soft X-ray range
of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths about 50 times shorter
than visible light. A nanometer is billionths of a meter. A human hair
is about 60,000 nanometers. These lasers can be used to "see" tiny
features, create extremely small patterns and manipulate materials in
ways that visible light can't.
The research reported in the
Nature Photonics paper focused on making the light of lasers operating
at 18.9 and 13.9 nanometers more "coherent" - a property that
distinguishes laser light from light generated by other sources.
Rocca's team generated a little seed of coherent X-ray light, converted
the frequency of a visible laser beam to soft X-ray light and obtained
a very coherent light at a low intensity. That seed was injected
through a plasma amplifier and grew to produce a very high intensity
beam of soft x-ray light with extraordinarily high coherence.
"Coherent
soft x-ray light can be used to measure the properties of materials and
directly write patterns with nano-scale dimension," Rocca said. "It can
be used to look for extremely small defects in the masks that will be
used to print the future generations of semiconductor chips."
The
work is part of the research conducted at the National Science
Foundation's Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Science and Technology - a
partnership between Colorado State University in Fort Collins, the
University of Colorado-Boulder and the University of California
Berkeley - that combines the expertise of researchers who are among the
world leaders in developing compact extreme ultraviolet coherent light
sources, optics and optical systems for nanoscience, nanotechnology and
other applications.
The center also has significant industry and
national laboratory involvement. The largest computer chip
manufacturers - Intel, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, IBM and Samsung -
are industrial members of the EUV ERC, joining a set of industries that
include small- and medium-sized companies.
#### About Colorado State University
Colorado
State University is one of our nation's leading research universities
with world-class research in infectious disease, atmospheric science,
clean energy technologies, and environmental science. It was founded in
1870 as the Colorado Agricultural College, six years before the
Colorado Territory became a state.
Last year, CSU awarded
degrees to more than 5,000 graduates, and this year, it attracted
nearly $300 million in research funding. Colorado State is a land-grant
institution and a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University-Extensive.
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Emily Narvaes Wilmsen
(970) 491-2336
Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu
Copyright © Colorado State University
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
News and information
Inventors scent a lifesaving market January 23rd, 2008
Nanotubes Go With the Flow January 23rd, 2008
Nanotechnology Testing and Regulations Inadequate January 22nd, 2008
Hercules Technology’s Sam Bhaumik and Kathy Conte to Present at January 22nd, 2008
Discoveries
Nanotubes Go With the Flow January 23rd, 2008
Nanotech yields darkest material ever measured January 22nd, 2008
In diatom, scientists find genes that may level engineering hurdle January 22nd, 2008
Scientists develop low-cost, 'green' antimicrobial paint January 22nd, 2008
Announcements
Nanotubes Go With the Flow January 23rd, 2008
Inventors scent a lifesaving market January 23rd, 2008
Debut of TEAM 0.5, the World's Best Microscope January 22nd, 2008
Zecotek Announces Official Launch of New High-Power, High-Resolution Laser Spectrometer January 22nd, 2008
Photonics/Optics/Lasers
Zecotek Announces Official Launch of New High-Power, High-Resolution Laser Spectrometer January 22nd, 2008
Compact synchrotron to use simple laser January 21st, 2008
Copper's Not Coping: New Chips Call on Light Speed January 20th, 2008
ColorPol® MIR – CODIXX to Enter the Mid Infrared Range Market January 18th, 2008
|
