Large area interference lithography using a table-top extreme ultraviolet laser: a systematic study of the degree of mutual coherence

A prototype low cost table-top Ar capillary discharge laser source (1.5 ns pulse duration, λ = 46.9 nm) was successfully used to produce, by means of interference lithography (with a simple Lloyd mirror setup), large area (0.1 mm2) regular patterns from 400 nm down to 22.5 nm (half-pitch) on PMMA/Si (PMMA: polymethylmethacrylate) substrates. The experiments allowed a systematical investigation of the degree of mutual coherence of the source, giving a clear indication that the interference lithography can be pushed down to the ultimate resolution limit of λ/4.