Source
Plasma Theory and Modeling
About
The Plasma Theory and Modeling group researches the physics of laser-driven extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light source plasmas using a blend of analytical modeling and numerical simulations.
Research focus
The Plasma Theory and Modeling group explores the physics of plasmas via analytic modeling and computer simulations. Tin plasmas are used as sources of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light in today’s most advanced nanolithography machines that are central to computer chip manufacturing. The group makes predictions that inform experiments such as those in the other Source department groups.
The source of EUV radiation in new-generation nanolithography machines is that of a hot and dense plasma (a “soup” of free electrons and ions). This plasma, which reaches temperatures above 400,000 degrees Celsius, is formed when a high-intensity laser pulse is focused onto a tiny, micrometer-sized droplet of molten tin. Importantly, tin plasmas are an excellent source of EUV radiation, which is exploited in nanolithography machines to print nanometer-scale features on silicon wafers for computer chip manufacturing.
The modeling of laser-driven EUV light source plasmas is a multifaceted task, requiring the coupling of a huge number of physical processes over a wide range of timescales. Research on laser-driven EUV light source plasmas spans topics such as atomic processes and radiation transport in plasmas, equation-of-state physics, plasma expansion dynamics as well as laser-induced hydrodynamic deformation of tin microdroplets. The Plasma Theory and Modeling group performs research in all of these areas, using a combination of analytic modeling and large-scale computer simulations. The goal of this research is to generate new, fundamental insights on laser-driven plasmas in order to accelerate the understanding and development of current and future laser-driven plasma sources of EUV light.
The Plasma Theory and Modeling group works closely with experimentalists in the EUV Plasma Processes and Ion Interactions groups at ARCNL. The group participates in a number of international collaborations with researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (USA), Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (USA), NASA (USA), University College Dublin (Ireland) and the University of New South Wales (Australia).
Group members
John Sheil came to ARCNL in 2019 as a postdoctoral researcher with the task of modeling laser-plasma interactions in Oscar Versolato’s EUV Plasma Processes group. Since 2021, he leads the Plasma Theory and Modeling group and is an Assistant Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
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