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Extreme-ultraviolet sources

Higher harmonics with plasmonics

Nature Photonics volume 5, pages 646–647 (2011)Cite this article

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The use of a custom-shaped hollow metallic cone can dramatically improve the efficiency of converting infrared to extreme-ultraviolet light, bringing the prospect of a compact laser-like source for next-generation lithography and imaging in the biological 'water window' a step closer to reality.

Spanning the wavelength range of around 3–30 nm, the extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) region of the electromagnetic spectrum is becoming increasingly important in modern optics. This regime encompasses a number of important wavelength ranges, including the window of water transparency (2.4–4.4 nm) for biological imaging1 as well as the current and possible future EUV lithography wavelengths of 13.5 nm and 6.7 nm, respectively2. However, full exploitation of this domain will require robust, routine, reliable and reasonably economical sources of laser-like radiation. In this issue of Nature Photonics, In-Yong Park et al. report3 an easy to fabricate, conical waveguide with an elliptical cross-section that dramatically improves the conversion efficiency of infrared to EUV radiation — an advance that brings the prospect of convenient 'one-box' EUV lasers even closer to fruition.

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Figure 1: Schematic of the elliptic-conical waveguide, showing how SPPs gather at the exit aperture.

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  1. John Costello is at the School of Physical Sciences, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland,

    John Costello

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  1. John Costello
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Correspondence to John Costello.

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Costello, J. Higher harmonics with plasmonics. Nature Photon 5, 646–647 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2011.266

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