Characteristics of Multilayer Mirrors in the X-ray and Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation Ranges

Book excerpt: This thesis comprehensively describes the computational design, fabrication and characterisation of multilayer mirrors intended as key reflective elements for the X-ray and extreme ultraviolet radiation ranges. -- The first central theme was to present various designs for the requirements of soft X-ray microprobes, EUVL lithography systems and high harmonic generation sources, i.e. monochromator, broad-angle supermirror, broadband intensity and polarising beamsplitters and order-selecting mirror. The particle swarm optimisation method was successfully applied in a global search of materials for the structure of mirrors. The robust designs made possible are considered to alleviate fabrication difficulties, such as control of layer thickness errors. -- The second important theme was to analyse the interfacial and surface imperfections in multilayer mirrors. This work is crucial in improving the fabrication technology and in : understanding the basic growth status at the interfaces. Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy were used in these experiments. The analyses are based on innovative methods, namely time series analysis and wavelet analysis. The evolution tendencies of the layer thicknesses, interfacial roughness and interdiffusion were determined, as were correlated growth, structural uniformity, surface stress damage and surface roughness. -- The final theme was to test a multilayer monochromator for use in a soft X-ray microprobe for radiobiological studies on pathological cells and tissue. The source spectrum was determined using different incidence angles on multilayer mirrors and some suggestions for improvement were presented.