US 11,776,804 B2
Laser-sustained plasma light source with reverse vortex flow
Ilya Bezel, Mountain View, CA (US); Leonid Borisovich Zvedenuk, Moscow (RU); Andrey Evgenievich Stepanov, Moscow (RU); Vitaly K. Rerikh, Moscow (RU); and Boris Vasilyevich Potapkin, Moscow (RU)
Assigned to KLA Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US)
Filed by KLA Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US)
Filed on Mar. 16, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/696,653.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/178,552, filed on Apr. 23, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0344146 A1, Oct. 27, 2022
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. H01J 61/52 (2006.01); H01J 65/04 (2006.01); H05H 1/46 (2006.01)
CPC H01J 61/52 (2013.01) [H01J 65/04 (2013.01); H05H 1/46 (2013.01); H01J 2893/0063 (2013.01)] 29 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A laser-sustained light source comprising:
a gas containment structure for containing a gas, wherein the gas containment structure comprises a body, a neck, and a shaft;
a plurality of nozzles position in or below the neck of the gas containment structure;
a plurality of gas delivery lines fluidically coupled to the plurality of nozzles and configured to deliver gas to the plurality of nozzles;
one or more gas inlets fluidically coupled to the gas delivery lines for providing gas into the plurality of gas delivery lines;
one or more gas outlets fluidically coupled to the gas containment structure and configured to flow gas out of the gas containment structure, wherein the one or more gas inlets and the one or more gas outlets are arranged to generate a vortex gas flow within the gas containment structure;
a gas seal positioned at a base of the gas containment structure;
a laser pump source configured to generate an optical pump to sustain a plasma in a region of the gas containment structure within an inner gas flow within the vortex gas flow; and
a light collector element configured to collect at least a portion of broadband light emitted from the plasma.