JPS62246238A - X-ray generating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To maintain a high output X-ray generating capability for a long time, by forming a capillary wall surface with a dielectric sheet, and renewing the wall surface as it is consumed. CONSTITUTION:When a condenser Cd is charged and a sufficient voltage is applied to an insulator 8, a dielectric sheet 9 covering the insulator is evaporated by the surface discharge of capillaries 2 to generate a plasma 5. In this case, by radiating electron beams from a cathode 6 to the plasma 5, the temperature of the plasma 5 rises, the density of the plasm also rises, and X-rays 7 are generated. Since a part of the surface of the dielectric sheet 9 facing the capillaries 2 is made into plasma by the surface discharge, the sheet is made thinner. Therefore, the dielectric sheet 9 is moved so as to cover the capillaries 2 by the new surface which is not made into plasma yet.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field 1 of the Invention] The present invention relates to an X-ray generation device that generates high-luminance and high-efficiency pulses Xta.

[Prior Art] Recently, development of an X-ray exposure apparatus using X-rays has been progressing as an apparatus for forming fine patterns on samples such as semiconductor wafers and masks. The X-ray generating device used in this X-ray exposure apparatus generally uses a method in which a high-speed electron beam collides with a target to generate X-rays from the target. However, according to this method, the X-ray generation efficiency is as low as about 0.1%, and when the intensity of the electron beam collided with the target is increased, the target laser 1- melts into VR, making it difficult to obtain high-power X-rays. had its limits.

Therefore, an X-ray generator using creeping discharge has been devised to obtain high-output X-rays.

The general structure of this X-ray generator 5A (capillary plasma X-ray source) is not shown in FIG.

In the insulator 1 made of cylindrical polyethylene, a capillary-like thin tube-shaped space (2) is formed through which the central portion of the insulator 1 passes through L'S, and electrodes 3.4 are installed on both sides of the insulator 1. There is. Ra and Rb are resistors, Cb and Cd are capacitors, and one end of the resistor IIa is connected to a DC high voltage of -1
-IV is applied.

With this structure, the capacitor Cd is charged and 411
When a sufficiently large voltage is applied to the element 1, the polyethylene constituting the -11 element 1 is evaporated by the creeping discharge of the capillary 2, and plasma 5 is generated. At this time, when the plasma 5 is irradiated with an electron beam from the cathode 6, m of the plasma 5 is
[Jt rises and plasma concentration increases, X-ray 7
occurs.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such a conventional method, since the voliethylene constituting the tA1 child 1 is consumed, the capillary 2
diameter becomes larger. For example, if a voltage of about 50K V is applied and IJIi electricity is performed about 300 times, the direct ty of 4 grins which was initially (Ma1 #l#I) becomes 3a.
m yell. As the diameter of the capillary increases, the plasma density decreases and the intensity of the generated XrA decreases, so the conventional method had the disadvantage that the sulfur Ql of the X-ray generator was short.

In view of the drawbacks of the above-mentioned conventional examples, an object of the present invention is to provide a high-output
The object of the present invention is to provide a capillary-type XF11 generation HIM that can maintain the ability to generate radiation for a long period of time.

Means J5 for solving problem E and operation] The X-ray generator of the present invention creates a high-density plasma in a capillary by creeping M electric current, and injects a high-speed electron beam into the plasma to generate X-rays. In the capillary type plasma X-ray source, the capillary is constituted by an insulating wall covered with a dielectric sheet 1-, and the dielectric sheet is renewable.

Therefore, the consumption of the dielectric sheet facing the capillary due to plasma formation can be compensated for by renewing the dielectric sheet.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail using the drawings.

↓ Components common or corresponding to those of the conventional example shown in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an X-ray generator according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the same figure, Ra and Rb are resistances, and Cb
, Cd is a capacitor, 2 is a capillary, 3.4 is an electrode, 5 is a generated plasma, 6 is a cathode, 7 is an X-ray, 8
is an insulator, and 9 is a dielectric sheet. As can be seen from the figure, the capillary 2 is composed of six triangular prism-shaped insulators 8 and a dielectric sheet 9 covering the insulators. The gear pillar 2 is surrounded by a dielectric sheet 9. The dielectric sheet 9 is made of an electrically insulating material containing an element (e.g., polyethylene, etc. when the X-ray power of carbon is required) and has a thickness of 1. ~100μl
It is a sheet of about. The insulator 8 may be made of the material of the Mffi sheet 9, but may be made of a different material from the dielectric sheet (for example, alumina AJ203) as long as it is an insulator. The electrodes 3, 4, cathode 6, insulator 8, and dielectric sheet 9 are housed in a military container.

Next, the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be explained.

When the capacitor Cd is charged and a sufficiently large voltage is applied to the insulator 8, the VH dielectric sheet covering the insulator 8 is evaporated by the electric current along the surface of the capillary 20, and plasma 5 is generated. At this time, when the plasma 5 is irradiated with an electron beam from the cathode 6, the temperature of the plasma 5 increases and the plasma density increases. Then, X-rays 7 are generated. The process up to this point is the same as the conventional type. However, since a part of the surface of the dielectric sheet 9 facing the dielectric sheet 9 is turned into plasma by creeping discharge, the sheet is thin. Therefore, the dielectric sheet 9 is moved so that the capillary 2 is surrounded by new material that has not been turned into plasma. This situation is shown in FIG. However, in this figure, only the insulator 8 and the dielectric sheet 9 constituting the capillary 2 are shown, and electrodes and the like are omitted. As shown in the figure, the dielectric sheet 9 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow. The movement of this dielectric sheet 9 is 1
It may be carried out every time the discharge is performed, or it may be carried out after an appropriate number of discharges from several times to several tens of times.

Also, when the sheet 9 is moved, the space of the capillary 2 is increased by 4! If the distance between the saws 8 is increased, the sheet 9 can be moved easily.

[Other Examples] Capillary plasma xiIQ as described in the previous example
Many electrical circuits have been devised for plasma generation. The present invention can be configured by any of such electrical circuits for a capillary plasma X-ray source, and is not limited to such electrical circuits. For example, FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention can also be configured as a capillary plasma X11 source having such a circuit.

In addition, an insulator 8 and a dielectric sheet 9 constituting the capillary 2
As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, many variations are possible. 5 to 7 are all cross-sectional views at the center of the capillary, and correspond to the cross section A-Δ in FIG. 1.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the structure may include eight insulators 8, or as shown in FIG.
A structure with . Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, a structure 71 is possible in which the lj7 element 8 is shaped like a rotatable inner material so that the dielectric sheet 9 can be easily moved.

[Effect of R-light] As described above, according to the present invention, in a capillary type X-ray generator, the wall surface of the capillary is formed by the dielectric sheet, and the wall surface can be renewed as the wall surface wears out. As a result, the X-ray output power does not decrease due to the enlargement of the capillary diameter as in the conventional type, and the high-output X-ray generation ability can be maintained, thereby extending the life of the Xa generator.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram showing the configuration of an X-ray generating device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing how the dielectric sheet 9 is moved in the device of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 shows a conventional capillary plasma X-ray source, and FIGS. 4 to 7 show other embodiments of the present invention. 1-: dielectric, 2: capillary, 3.4: electrode, 5: plasma, 6: cathode, 7: X-ray, 8: insulator, 9: dielectric sheet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A capillary-type X-ray generator that generates X-rays by generating plasma in a capillary-shaped space by creeping discharge along the wall forming the capillary-shaped space, the above-mentioned X-ray generation characterized in that a tubular space is formed by surrounding a plurality of insulators, and a surface of the insulators facing the tubular space is covered with a dielectric sheet. Device. 2. The insulator is composed of a plurality of columnar insulators, and the dielectric sheet is moved through the tangential surfaces or gaps between the tangential lines where the plurality of insulators are in contact with each other, so that the dielectric faces the capillary space. The X-ray generator according to claim 1, characterized in that the surface of the sheet can be updated. 3. The X-ray generator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the insulator is made of a plurality of cylindrical insulators and is rotatable about the cylinders as a rotation axis.