UV fluorescence from zinc oxide excited by x-ray laser

The scintillation properties of a hydrothermal method grown zinc oxide (ZnO) crystal are evaluated for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) laser excitation at 13.9 nm wavelength. The exciton emission lifetime at around 380 nm is determined to be 1.1 ns, almost identical to ultraviolet laser excitation cases. This fast response time is sufficiently short for characterizing EUV lithography light sources having a few nanoseconds duration. The availability of large size ZnO crystal up to 3-inch is quite attractive for future lithography and imaging applications. (author)