A. Ritucci

Soft x-ray submicron imaging detector based on point defects in LiF

The use of lithium fluoride (LiF) crystals and films as imaging detectors for EUV and soft-x-ray radiation is discussed. The EUV or soft-x-ray radiation can generate stable color centers, emitting in the visible spectral range an intense fluorescence from the exposed areas. The high dynamic response of the material to the received dose and the atomic scale of the color centers make this detector extremely interesting for imaging at a spatial resolution which can be much smaller than the light wavelength. Experimental results of contact microscopy imaging of test meshes demonstrate a resolution of the order of 400nm. This high spatial resolution has been obtained in a wide field of view, up to several mm2. Images obtained on different biological samples, as well as an investigation of a soft x-ray laser beam are presented. The behavior of the generated color centers density as a function of the deposited x-ray dose and the advantages of this new diagnostic technique for both coherent and noncoherent EUV so...

Interference lithography by a soft x-ray laser beam: Nanopatterning on photoresists

We have studied the feasibility of high-resolution laser interference lithography using a tabletop 46.9nm, 1.5ns Ar laser, combined with two different optical configurations based on a Lloyd’s mirror interferometer. Using one of these schemes we have encoded periodic grating structures with a half pitch of 42nm and a vertical modulation of 5nm on a commercial PMMA photoresist. Experiments performed with larger half-pitch structures and detailed theoretical calculations demonstrate the potentiality of producing periodic structures with a half-pitch resolution down to 20nm and a height of up to 60nm. The results can be of considerable interest for the development of a complete high-resolution lithographic process operating with the 47nm laser wavelength.

Damage and ablation of large bandgap dielectrics induced by a 46.9 nm laser beam

We applied a 0.3 mJ, 1.7 ns, 46.9 nm soft-x-ray argon laser to ablate the surface of large bandgap dielectrics: CaF2 and LiF crystals. We studied the ablation versus the fluence of the soft-x-ray beam, varying the fluence in the range 0.05-3 J/cm2. Ablation thresholds of 0.06 and 0.1 J/cm2 and ablation depths of 14 and 20 nm were found for CaF2 and LiF, respectively. These results define new ablation conditions for these large bandgap dielectrics that can be of interest for the fine processing of these materials.

Diffraction of X-ray beams in capillary waveguides

Abstract Propagation of the soft X-ray radiation generated by a small-diameter incoherent source through the capillary plane waveguide which satisfies the multimode condition is studied using the Fresnel–Kirchhoff diffraction theory. The diffraction is manifested by appearance of the diffraction fringes, dark and light bands, in the far-field zone of the capillary output. Such a behaviour of the X-ray radiation is confirmed by our experimental data. The results give explanation for the interference effect recently observed in many experiments on the grazing reflections of X-rays in single and multiple capillary optics.

ACCURATE WAVELENGTH MEASUREMENTS AND MODELING OF Fe XV TO Fe XIX SPECTRA RECORDED IN HIGH-DENSITY PLASMAS BETWEEN 13.5 AND 17 A

Iron spectra have been recorded from plasmas created at three different laser plasma facilities: the Tor Vergata University laser in Rome (Italy), the Hercules laser at ENEA in Frascati (Italy), and the Compact Multipulse Terawatt (COMET) laser at LLNL in California (USA). The measurements provide a means of identifying dielectronic satellite lines from Fe XVI and Fe XV in the vicinity of the strong 2p → 3d transitions of Fe XVII. About 80 Δn ≥ 1 lines of Fe XV (Mg-like) to Fe XIX (O-like) were recorded between 13.8 and 17.1 A with a high spectral resolution (λ/Δλ ≈ 4000); about 30 of these lines are from Fe XVI and Fe XV. The laser-produced plasmas had electron temperatures between 100 and 500 eV and electron densities between 1020 and 1022 cm-3. The Hebrew University Lawrence Livermore Atomic Code (HULLAC) was used to calculate the atomic structure and atomic rates for Fe XV-XIX. HULLAC was used to calculate synthetic line intensities at Te = 200 eV and ne = 1021 cm-3 for three different conditions to illustrate the role of opacity: optically thin plasmas with no excitation-autoionization/dielectronic recombination (EA/DR) contributions to the line intensities, optically thin plasmas that included EA/DR contributions to the line intensities, and optically thick plasmas (optical depth ≈200 μm) that included EA/DR contributions to the line intensities. The optically thick simulation best reproduced the recorded spectrum from the Hercules laser. However, some discrepancies between the modeling and the recorded spectra remain.

Spectral enhancement of a Xe-based EUV discharge plasma source

Spectra have been recorded from a Xe discharge capillary source in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) region of the spectrum, between 10 and 18 nm. Features due to 4d–4f and 4d–5p transitions in a range of ions have been observed, with the 4d–4f emission from ions Xe8+–Xe12+ clearly identified in the spectrum. The power emitted into a range of bands in the EUV has been measured and the effects on the spectrum of adding SnO2 and In2O3 powders to the Xe discharge have been quantified. The influence of indium ions on the spectrum, in particular, is to increase the emission in the region of 14.3 nm by as much as 30% over the pure xenon spectrum.

Two-beam interferometric encoding of photoluminescent gratings in LiF crystals by high-brightness tabletop soft x-ray laser

Two-beam interferometric encoding of periodic lines of permanent color centers in LiF has been obtained by use of an intense and high spatially coherent soft x-ray laser beam. A spatial resolution of the lines less than 1μm is demonstrated. We have used the 46.9nm laser pulses (0.3mJ, 1.7ns at 0.2Hz) produced in compact capillary discharges. Due to the low penetration depth of their radiation, their high brightness and spatial coherence, soft x-ray lasers can represent a powerful tool to encode integrated optical devices having low dimensionality and high spatial resolution inside optically transparent dielectrics, in extremely short exposure times.

Rydberg transitions in the spectra of near-neon-like Cu and Zn ions in different laser-produced plasmas: observations and modeling

Abstract We present observations of high-n transitions in the spectra of neon-like Cu19+ and Zn20+ ions observed in a variety of laser-produced plasmas (LPPs). The spectra are recorded with spectral resolution λ/Δλ=3000–8000 from three different laser sources: a 15 ns -pulse length Nd:glass, a ps-pulse length Nd:glass, a 12 ns -pulse length XeCl laser. These spectral observations are used to classify the transitions in the 2p–nd and 2s–np Rydberg series of the Ne-like copper and zinc ions, and to derive their first and second ionization energies. The plasma X-ray emission is simulated with a steady-state collisional-radiative model that includes the effect of self-absorption on line intensities, and the effect of hot-electron populations on the ionization balance. These spectra, along with those in our other recent work, provide a comprehensive set of data that can be used to test the accuracy of atomic-structure calculations, and to demonstrate the importance of opacity and hot electron effects on high-n transitions.

Identification and precise measurements of the wavelengths of high-n transitions in N-, O-, and F-like Zn ions

We have observed spectra of highly charged zinc ions from a variety of laser-produced plasmas. High-precision measurements of transition wavelengths have been made in the range 6.7–8.6 A, with accuracies of ≈1 mA. Line identifications for high-n transitions (n ≤ 7) in the N-, O-, and F-like spectra of Zn XXIV, XXIII, XXII, respectively, are made by comparison with steady-state collisional–radiative models.

Wave optics treatment of x‐rays passing through tapered capillary guides

The propagation of soft X-rays generated by a small-diameter incoherent source through a tapered, plane capillary-type waveguide was studied using the Fresnel-Kirchhoff theory and method of images. The diffraction and interference are manifested by the appearance of the diffraction fringes in both the near- and far-field zones of the waveguide output. The experimental data confirm such behaviour of the X-radiation.