Stress, reflectance, and stability of Ru/Be multilayer coatings with Mo interlayers near the 11†nm wavelength.

The stress, reflectance, and temporal stability of Ru/Be multilayer mirrors, both with and without Mo interlayers, were studied. A Ru/Be MLM was found to have zero stress at a Ru layer thickness-to-period ratio of γ ∼ 0.4. By adding Mo interlayers to both interfaces, it is possible to achieve a record-high reflectance (R > 71%) at a wavelength close to 11 nm while maintaining near-zero stress levels. A Ru/Be MLM with Mo interlayers at both interfaces also demonstrates high temporal reflectance stability. Ru/Be MLMs may be of interest for the next-generation projection lithography at a wavelength of 11.2 nm.

Investigation of structural and reflective characteristics of short-period Mo/B4C multilayer X-ray mirrors.

The results of a study of the structural and reflective characteristics of short-period multilayer X-ray mirrors based on Mo/B4C at wavelengths 1.54 Å, 9.89 Šand 17.59 Šare presented. The period of the samples varied in the range 8-35 Å. The average widths of the interfaces were ∼3.5 and 2.2 Šat one and the other boundaries, with a tendency for weak growth with any decrease in the period. The interlayer roughness was ∼1 Å. The research results indicate promising prospects for the use of multilayer Mo/B4C mirrors for synchrotron applications.

EUV telescope for a Cubesat nanosatellite.

This paper describes in detail a compact (2U format) telescope operating in the extreme ultraviolet range for studying the solar corona at a wavelength of 17.14 nm. The telescope objective has been built according to the Ritchey-Chrétien scheme with the following parameters: effective focal length of 381.3 mm, field of view of 2×2∘, and angular resolution of 11 in. Reflective multilayer Al/Be coatings were used, having 55% reflectance and a 0.4 nm spectral bandwidth. The wavefront rms error is 30 nm. An interferometric technique for controlling the shapes of the substrates and for adjusting the optical system and detector of the telescope assembly is described in detail.

Correction: Depth-resolved oxidational studies of Be/Al periodic multilayers investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Correction for 'Depth-resolved oxidational studies of Be/Al periodic multilayers investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy' by Niranjan Kumar et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2023, 25, 1205-1213, https://doi.org/10.1039/D2CP04778K.

Depth-resolved oxidational studies of Be/Al periodic multilayers investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

The quantification of surface and subsurface oxidation of Be/Al periodic multilayer mirrors due to exposure in the ambient atmosphere was investigated by depth-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The contribution of oxidation was lower for the thicker layer of Al in the periodic structures since the surface was less chemically reactive for the oxidation. This was investigated by finding the depth-resolved slope of the intensity ratio of metal/oxides (Be/BeOx and Al/AlOx) by analyzing the chemical shift of Al 1s and Be 1s photoelectrons. Furthermore, a well-resolved doublet chemical shift in the O 1s spectra indicated the formation of BeOx/AlOx and BeOH/AlOH oxides. The investigation showed that the subsurface and surface regions were dominated by metal-hydroxide (BeOH/AlOH) and metal-oxide (BeOx/AlOx) bonding, respectively, analyzed by the depth-resolved chemical shifts.

A volume plasmon blueshift in thin silicon films embedded within Be/Si periodic multilayer mirrors.

Microstructural properties of the beryllium (Be) and silicon (Si) in periodic multilayer mirrors Be/Si with the variation of film thickness were comprehensively determined by Raman scattering. For the thinner films, the structure of Be evolved in the amorphous phase, and it was transformed into the polycrystalline phase for thicker films. The Si films in the periodic structure were condensed into the amorphous phase. The small fraction of nanocrystalline Si particles was distributed within the amorphous phase. A shake-up satellite peak of Si 2s photoelectrons was observed in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy which suggested the excitation of a plasmon in Si films embedded within Be/Si periodic multilayers. The energy of plasmons was sensitive to the film thickness of Si in the periods which directly corresponds to the particle size. The binding energy of the satellite peak of Si 2s photoelectrons was blueshifted (higher energy) with a decrease in the particle size. This was explained by size dependent quantum confinement of particles.

Phase analysis of tungsten and phonon behavior of beryllium layers in W/Be periodic multilayers.

In periodic W/Be multilayers, thickness-dependent microstructural and phase modifications were investigated in W and Be layers. In X-ray diffraction, α-W was predominant for the ultrathin layer of W, while ß-W evolved along with the α-W phase for higher film thickness. For the thicker layers, the thermodynamically metastable ß-W vanished and a single well-defined preferably oriented stable α-W phase was observed. The lattice spacing revealed that these phases exist in the tensile stressed condition. With the increase in thickness of Be layers, the blueshift and narrow linewidth of the transverse optical (TO) phonon mode was observed in Raman scattering studies. However, the TO mode was redshifted and the linewidth was further narrowed consistently with an increase in the thermal annealing temperature of the multilayers. The investigation has quantified an increase in compressive strain and reduction of defects with an increase in thickness of the Be layers. However, for thermally annealed samples, the compressive strain in the Be layers was relaxed and crystalline quality was improved.

Phonon, plasmon and electronic properties of surfaces and interfaces of periodic W/Si and Si/W multilayers.

The phonon and plasmon excitations and electronic properties of interfaces of periodic W/Si and Si/W multilayer structures were investigated. The Boson band originated from quasilocal surface acoustic phonons for ultrathin Si layers, excited by Raman scattering. In confined Si layers, a small fraction of crystalline Si nanoclusters were embedded within a large volume fraction of amorphous Si (a-Si) nanoclusters. The size of the a-Si nanoclusters was smaller for the thinner Si layer in the periodic layers. The plasmon energy in the Si layer was blueshifted with a decrease in the thickness of this layer. This was explained by the size-dependent quantization of plasmon shift. The valence band spectra comprised a substantial fine structure, which is associated with the interaction of valence orbitals of the W and Si atoms at the interface boundaries. For thinner Si layers, the binding interaction of W5d and Si3p states leads to the splitting of the density of states near the Fermi level in the energy range of 1.5-5 eV. However, the energy splitting with two maxima was observed at 0.7 and 2.4 eV for thicker layers. Thus, the results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy have indicated that the interface of W/Si multilayers consists of metal-enriched tungsten silicide. Both the atomic structure and the elemental composition of the silicide were modified with a change in the thickness of the Si layers. This novel investigation could be essential for designing nanomirrors with higher reflectivity.

Reflecting properties of narrowband Si/Al/Sc multilayer mirrors at 58.4 nm.

This study considers the reflective characteristics of three-component Si/Al/Sc multilayer mirrors with a MoSi2 protective cap layer as candidates for telescopes for observation of the solar corona in the He I (λ=58.4nm) spectral line. At 58.4 nm, a peak reflectance of 32% and a spectral width at a half-maximum intensity of Δλ=5.4nm are obtained. The temporal stability of the reflectance at λ=58.4nm for Si/Al/Sc samples with a 6 nm thick MoSi2 cap layer is investigated during storage in air for 20 months.

Optical constants of sputtered beryllium thin films determined from photoabsorption measurements in the spectral range 20.4-250†eV.

In this work, the refractive index of beryllium in the photon energy range 20.4-250 eV was experimentally determined. The initial data include measurements of the transmittance of two free-standing Be films with thicknesses of 70 nm and 152 nm, as well as reflectometric measurements of similar films on a substrate. Measurements were carried out at the optics beamline of the BESSY II synchrotron radiation source. The absorption coefficient ß was found directly from the transmission coefficient of the films, and the real part of the polarizability δ was calculated from the Kramers-Kronig relations. A comparison is carried out with results obtained 20 years ago at the ALS synchrotron using a similar methodology.

Stable high-reflection Be/Mg multilayer mirrors for solar astronomy at 30.4 nm.

The He-II (λ=30.4 nm) emission line is one of the spectral channels chosen to study solar corona. This Letter reports on investigations of novel beryllium (Be)/magnesium multilayer coatings which, when incorporated beneath a protective bilayer of aluminium and Be, ensure particularly high-reflection coefficients of up to 56%, a spectral width of Δλ=1.6 nm (λ/Δλ≈20), and high temporal stability.

High-reflection Mo/Be/Si multilayers for EUV lithography.

The effect of Be layers on the reflection coefficients of Mo/Be/Si multilayer mirrors in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) region is reported. Samples were studied using laboratory and synchrotron based reflectometry, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The samples under study have reflection coefficients above 71% at 13.5 nm and more than 72% at 12.9 nm in a near normal incidence mode. Calculations show that by optimizing the thickness of the Be layer it should be possible to increase the reflection coefficient by another 0.5-1%. These results are of considerable interest for EUV lithography.