Generation of soft x rays using a rare gas-hydrogen plasma focus and its application to x-ray lithography

A conventional plasma focus device was used to produce a hot, dense plasma which emits radiation strongly in the soft x-ray region. We showed experimentally that a plasma produced from a mixture of hydrogen and a rare gas such as neon, argon, or krypton is an effective source of a characteristic x ray of the rare gas. Resist exposures and pattern printings were made to evaluate the feasibility of this device as a source for soft x-ray lithography.