Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A method comprising:releasing a stream of target material droplets toward a target region, the droplets in the stream traveling along a trajectory from a target material supply system to the target region;producing a spatially-extended target distribution by directing a first pulse of light along a direction of propagation toward a first target material droplet while the first droplet is between the target material supply apparatus and the target region, the impact of the first pulse of light on the first target material droplet increasing a cross-sectional diameter of the first target material droplet in a plane that faces the direction of propagation and decreasing a thickness of the first target material droplet along a direction that is parallel to the direction of propagation;positioning an optic to establish a beam path that intersects the target location;coupling a gain medium to the beam path; andproducing an amplified light beam that interacts with the spatially-extended target distribution to produce plasma that generates extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light by scattering photons emitted from the gain medium off of the spatially-extended target distribution, at least some of the scattered photons placed on the beam path to produce the amplified light beam. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the EUV light is generated without providing external photons to the beam path. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the stream comprises a plurality of target material droplets, each separated from one another along the trajectory, and separate spatially-extended target distributions are produced from more than one of the droplets in the stream. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first pulse of light has a wavelength of 1.06 μm. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional diameter of the spatially-extended target distribution in the plane that is transverse to the direction of propagation is 3 to 4 times larger than the cross-sectional diameter of the first target material droplet. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the spatially-extended target distribution is produced a time period after the first light pulse impacts the first target material droplet. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first pulse of light has a duration of 10 ns. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the amplified light beam has a foot-to-foot duration of 400-500 ns. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the amplified light beam comprises light having a wavelength of 10.6 μm. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the amplified light beam has light having a wavelength that is about ten times the wavelength of the first pulse of light. 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising sensing that a first target material droplet in the stream of droplets is between the target material supply system and the target region. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the spatially-extended target distribution is in the form of a disk. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the disk comprises a disk of molten metal. 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the amplified light beam interacts with the spatially-extended target distribution to generate extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light without any coherent radiation being produced. 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the optic is positioned at a side of the gain medium opposite to the target location to reflect light back on the beam path. 16. An extreme ultraviolet light source comprising:an optic positioned to provide light to a beam path;a target supply system that generates a stream of target material droplets along a trajectory from the target supply system to a target location that intersects the beam path;a light source positioned to irradiate a target material droplet in the stream of target material droplets at a location that is between the target supply system and the target location, the light source emitting light of an energy sufficient to physically deform a target material droplet into a spatially-extended target distribution;a gain medium positioned on the beam path between the target location and the optic; anda spatially-extended target distribution positionable to at least partially coincide with the target location to define an optical cavity along the beam path and between the spatially-extended target distribution and the optic, whereinthe spatially-extended target distribution and the target material droplets comprise a material that emits EUV light in a plasma state. 17. The light source of claim 16, wherein the target material comprises tin, and the target material droplets comprise droplets of molten tin. 18. The light source of claim 16, wherein the spatially-extended target distribution has a cross-sectional diameter in a plane that is perpendicular to direction of propagation of an amplified light beam that is produced by the optical cavity, and the cross-sectional diameter of the spatially-extended target distribution is 3-4 times larger than a cross-sectional diameter of the target material droplet.