DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PROTECTING A VACUUM ENVIRONMENT AGAINST LEAKAGE, AND EUV RADIATION-GENERATING APPARATUS

摘要

The invention relates to a device (20) for protecting a vacuum environment against leakage, comprising: an optical component (21) for closing off the vacuum environment in a gas-tight manner, a cooling device (25) for cooling the optical component (21) by supplying a cooling medium (24) to a cooling region (23) which is separated from the vacuum environment in a gas-tight manner and in which a first subregion (21a) of the optical component (21) is arranged, a negative pressure-generating device (28) for generating a negative pressure (pu) in a negative-pressure region (31) which is separated from the vacuum environment and from the cooling region (23) in a gas-tight manner and in which a second subregion (21b) of the optical component (21) is arranged, and also a detection device (33) for detecting a leakage at the optical component (21) as the cooling medium (24) flows across from the cooling region (23) to the negative-pressure region (31) and/or to the vacuum environment (4a). The invention also relates to an EUV radiation-generating apparatus having a device (20) of this kind, and also to an associated method.