The Engineering Research Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Science and Technology at Colorado State University (CSU) in partnership with the University of Colorado (CU), the University of California, Berkeley, and the Center for X-Ray Optics, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. The P.I. and Center Director is Dr. Jorge Rocca, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at CSU. The vision of the ERC is to inexpensively harness the extreme ultraviolet (EUV), soft x-ray range of electromagnetic radiation to image and measure small features, particularly in the metrology of VLSI masks and the microscopy of biological specimens. These functions currently are performed using synchrotron radiation sources. EUV wavelengths can image nanoscale features, making the deliverables of this ERC useful in manipulating and producing nanoscale objects. The ERC is based on a partnership with microelectronics firms and will prepare a diverse workforce of physicists and electrical engineers needed to advance and implement EUV and nanoscale science and technology
Light in the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) region of the spectrum (wavelengths approximately 1 to 50 nm) is becoming a critical enabling technology. At the time of the EUV ERC inception in 2003, only a handful of basic science experiments using coherent EUV light had been conducted outside of large national light source facilities. The wavelength range of compact coherent EUV sources was very limited and corresponded mostly to the long wavelength limit of the EUV spectrum (30-50 nm). Breakthroughs in both EUV Lasers and in High Harmonic Generation sources at the NSF EUV ERC have greatly expanded their spectral coverage down to 1 nm, have increased their average power by several orders of magnitude, and have in some cases reduced the source size down to desk-top scale. The Center technical output has been described in over 419 journal papers and 1,451 conference proceedings, abstracts and presentations. Center publications have been cited more than 3,000 times in the scientific literature. Tabletop EUV lasers were demonstrated for the first time at wavelengths below 10 nm with sufficient pulse energy to render single-shot images with nanoscale resolution and to produce record average power of 0.1 mW in the 13-18 nm spectral regions for applications. High harmonic sources achieved full phase matching at wavelengths of <8 Å, coherently combining >5001 mid-IR photons to generate bright soft x-ray beams with coherent bandwidths sufficient to support isolated 2.5 attosecond pulses. Imaging experiments with the tabletop coherent EUV sources improved the resolution down to 22 nm, and demonstrated movies of nanoscale dynamic interaction for the first time using a tabletop setup. In the area of metrology, high harmonic pulses were used to measure the limiting demagnetization speed in widespread magnetic alloys and multilayer systems with <10 fs time resolution, yielding many surprising results. In acoustic nanometrology the first method to characterize the mechanical properties of very thin <<50 nm films, and probe heat flow in 1D and 2D <<30 nm structures were demonstrated. Transient attosecond absorption is allowing the direct measurement of quantum material processes on attosecond timescales. A new EUV laser ablation nanoprobe was developed to map the compositions of samples in 3-dimensions with nanoscale resolution. This probe has the potential to map the chemical composition of biological specimens at the sub-cellular level. In the area of nanoscale patterning, error-free printing was demonstrated by coherent illumination of a mask with a compact EUV laser and dense patterning of record small 15 nm half pitch was achieved in a chemically amplified resist using synchrotron light. The Center has supported industry in the development of new manufacturing technologies that are well positioned to have a sustained multi-billion dollar commercial impact. >28 Center graduates are now in industry with several joining Center corporate members. These Center graduates have made crucial contributions to the development and implementation of EUV technologies in manufacturing and have received awards from their companies for their achievements. Moreover, our interaction with industry has resulted in several new commercial products. The compact coherent sources developed at the Center are now commercially available and are making an impact in institutions world-wide. The EUV ERC has also made an impact on education at all levels and has contributed to increased diversity in engineering and in science. Our strategy of establishing long term research and education collaborations with partner institutions such as Morehouse College and our partnerships to integrate optics in existing, successful outreach programs at the core Center institutions have produced significant results. The EUV ERC Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program has mentored 222 students from 40 different institutions with nearly 50% of its summer participants from under-represented minority groups of which 60% percent went on to enroll in graduate school in STEM disciplines. Our K-12 outreach program, in which Center students often participate and serve as role models, has directly impacted 5961 students and 833 teachers. An additional 7557 K-12 students have been affected by our Associate programs. A High school student summer research program and an RET program had an impact on 39 students and 32 middle and high school teachers. The multidisciplinary and multi-institution organization of the Center is graduating 110 uniquely trained graduate students, many of whom have already graduated and joined US industry and academia. Sixty Center students have received awards from professional societies, federal institutions, industry associations or universities. The Center achievements are now opening up new opportunities and increasing the possibilities for potential impact of coherent EUV light - well beyond those envisioned when the Center was inaugurated. The realization of the greatest opportunities will still require many years of work. Therefore, with the support of the core Universities, industry, and the state of Colorado, we have made plans for the continuation of the Center activities beyond the ten years of NSF funding.
