General objective
This project aims at the realization of a new technological platform for the development of a EUV – soft X-ray integrated photonics.
Main objective of the project: development of the X-PIC platform and its validation.
Specific objectives
1. Development of a compact, high-power external driving laser.
This is based on the technology of optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) to achieve the following target specifications: high-power (>20 W) compact infrared (IR) driver laser with 1.5 – 2 mm tunable wavelength and <30 fs pulse durations, with high stability criteria for carrier-envelope phase (<300 mrad), beam pointing (<5 μrad), and power (< 1 %).
2. Realization of novel integrated components working at high photon energies.
These integrated components will be realized by femtosecond laser micromachining (FLM) in fused silica substrates to withstand high laser intensities while ensuring good heat dissipation.
The overall footprint of a typical integrated system will be on the millimeter scale.
The project will focus on the development of these basic functionalities:
• EUV-SXR pulsed coherent source with high generation efficiency, reaching photon fluxes >1011 photons/(eV·s) in the EUV and >109 photons/(eV·s) in the SXR;
• efficient filters for separating the fundamental laser wavelength from the EUV-SXR radiation, with an IR attenuation > 40 dB vs. a EUV attenuation < 3 dB;
• EUV-SXR beam splitters, delay lines and radiation manipulation devices (polarization shaping; integrated gratings).
3. Validate technology with two working prototypes, from TRL1-2 to TRL3-4, having a large relevance to industrial and technological applications:
(1) EUV integrated interferometer for surface nanometrology,
(2) a compact workstation for beyond-EUV lithography (working at >90 eV, <13.5 nm).