Patent ID: 8368040

Claim:
A radiation system comprising: a target material supply configured to supply droplets of target material along a trajectory; and a laser system comprising an amplifier and optics, the optics being configured to establish a first beam path which passes through the amplifier and through a preconditioning position on the trajectory at which the droplets of target material are heated, and to establish a second beam path which passes through the amplifier and through a plasma formation position on the trajectory at which the droplets of target material form an EUV radiation emitting plasma, the laser system being configured to generate a first pulse of laser radiation when photons emitted from the amplifier are reflected along the first beam path by a droplet of target material at the preconditioning position on the trajectory, and to generate a second pulse of laser radiation when photons emitted from the amplifier are reflected along the second beam path by the droplet of target material at the plasma formation position on the trajectory.