Extreme ultraviolet

Extreme ultraviolet composite image of the Sun (red: 21.1 nm, green: 19.3 nm, blue: 17.1 nm) taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory on August 1, 2010
13.5 nm extreme ultraviolet light is used commercially for photolithography as part of the semiconductor fabrication process. This image shows an early, experimental tool.

Extreme ultraviolet radiation (EUV or XUV) or high-energy ultraviolet radiation is electromagnetic radiation in the part of the electromagnetic spectrum spanning wavelengths shorter than the hydrogen Lyman-alpha line from 121 nm down to the X-ray band of 10 nm. By the Planck–Einstein equation the EUV photons have energies from 10.26 eV up to 124.24 eV where we enter the X-ray energies. EUV is naturally generated by the solar corona and artificially by plasma, high harmonic generation sources and synchrotron light sources. Since UVC extends to 100 nm, there is some overlap in the terms.

The main uses of extreme ultraviolet radiation are photoelectron spectroscopy, solar imaging, and lithography. In air, EUV is the most highly absorbed component of the electromagnetic spectrum, requiring high vacuum for transmission.


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