Target material, high-brightness euv source and method for generating euv radiation

Abstract

The invention relates to plasma source comprising a target material to produce the plasma emitting EUV radiation. The target material comprises a Li-based alloy with at least one further element selected from the group consisting of Ag, Au, Bi, Ba, Sr. The alloy is configured to increase the density of the target material by more than three times compared to the density of Li. As a result, compared with the Li target, the velocity of the droplet fraction of debris particles may be sharply reduced, which makes it possible to control the direction of its exit from the plasma due to the high velocity of the target. The plasma source is preferably a laser-produced plasma light source with a fast rotating target (at least 100 m/s). The target material may allow the creation of compact low-debris EUV light sources with high spectral brightness designed for a wide range of applications.