This paper deals with a lithium/tin combined target to increase the conversion efficiency of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) of 13.5 nm emission from laser-produced plasma. The bilayer target of glass/lithium (20 nm)/tin (50 nm) exhibits a sharp and strong emission in comparison with a Sn bulk target. The reverse coating of glass/tin/lithium was unstable and EUV could not be observed. By using nano-porous SnO2 and an electrochemical deposition of lithium, nano-structured lithium/tin composite was prepared, and was stable without deliquescence of lithium.

Capsules with a thin aerogel shell were prepared by the OO/W/OI emulsion process. (Phloroglucinol carboxylic acid)/formaldehyde (PF) was used as the water phase (W) solution to form the shell of the capsule. PF is a linear polymer prepared from phloroglucinol carboxylic acid. The viscosity of the PF solution can reach a high level of 9×10−5 m2/s without gelation while resorcinol/formaldehyde (RF) gelates at ~3–4×10−5 m2/s. Using the viscous PF solution, capsule with a 17 µm gel shell was fabricated. This thickness satisfies the specification of the first phase of Fast Ignition Realization Experiment (FIREX-I) at Osaka University. When PF gel was extracted to remove the organic solvent, shrinkage of 9% occurred. The final density of the PF aerogel was 145 mg/cm3. Both the shell thickness and density can satisfy the specification of FIREX-I. The pore size of the PF aerogel was less than 100 nm while that of RF was 200–500 nm. The SEM showed that PF had particle-like foam structure while RF had fibrous-like foam structure.