Magnus Lindblom

High-resolution compact X-ray microscopy.

We demonstrate compact full‐field soft X‐ray transmission microscopy with sub 60‐nm resolution operating at λ= 2.48 nm. The microscope is based on a 100‐Hz regenerative liquid‐nitrogen‐jet laser‐plasma source in combination with a condenser zone plate and a micro‐zone plate objective for high‐resolution imaging onto a 2048 × 2048 pixel CCD detector. The sample holder is mounted in a helium atmosphere and allows imaging of both dry and wet specimens. The microscope design enables fast sample switching and the sample can be pre‐aligned using a visible‐light microscope. High‐quality images can be acquired with exposure times of less than 5 min. We demonstrate the performance of the microscope using both dry and wet samples.

Cold-developed electron-beam-patterned ZEP 7000 for fabrication of 13 nm nickel zone plates

Cold development was applied to improve the resolution in a trilayer resist that is used for the fabrication of state-of-the-art soft x-ray microscopy zone plates. By decreasing the temperature of the hexyl acetate developer to −50 °C, 11 nm half-pitch gratings have been resolved in the electron-beam resist ZEP 7000. 12 nm half-pitch gratings have been successfully transferred, via the intermediate SiO2 hardmask, into the bottom polyimide layer by CHF3 and O2 reactive ion etching. The trilayer resist, including optimized cold development, has finally been used in an electroplating-based process for the fabrication of nickel zone plates. Zone plates with down to 13 nm outermost zone width have been fabricated and 2.4% average groove diffraction efficiency has been measured for zone plates with 15 nm outermost zone width and a nickel height of 55 nm.

Pulse reverse plating for uniform nickel height in zone plates

Nickel soft x-ray zone plates are fabricated by through-mask electroplating. The authors report on how a uniform nickel thickness can be obtained over the entire zone plate using pulse and pulse reverse plating. If the plating is carried out at a constant current the nickel thickness has been observed to decrease with radius. This results in lower outer zones and reduced diffraction efficiency in the outer parts of the zone plates. Here they show that the height profile can be controlled by adjusting the current density of the pulses. A high current density is found to primarily affect the edges while a low current density was observed to affect the central parts of the structures. This is true for both cathodic and anodic currents, which means that local plating and dissolution rates can be adjusted to obtain a uniform mass distribution.

Condenser for Koehler-like illumination in transmission x-ray microscopes at undulator sources

We report on a novel condenser for full-field transmission x-ray microscopes that use synchrotron radiation from an undulator source. The condenser produces a Koehler-like homogeneous intensity distribution in the sample plane and eliminates object illumination problems connected with the high degree of spatial coherence in an undulator beam. The optic consists of a large number of small linear diffraction gratings and is therefore relatively easy to manufacture. First imaging experiments with a prototype condenser were successfully performed with the Twinmic x-ray microscope at the Elettra synchrotron facility in Italy.

High-aspect-ratio germanium zone plates fabricated by reactive ion etching in chlorine

This article describes the fabrication of soft x-ray germanium zone plates with a process based on reactive ion etching (RIE) in Cl-2. A high degree of anisotropy is achieved by sidewall passivat ...

Compact high-resolution differential interference contrast soft x-ray microscopy

We demonstrate high-resolution x-ray differential interference contrast (DIC) in a compact soft x-ray microscope. Phase contrast imaging is enabled by the use of a diffractive optical element objective which is matched to the coherence conditions in the microscope setup. The performance of the diffractive optical element objective is evaluated in comparison with a normal zone plate by imaging of a nickel siemens star pattern and linear grating test objects. Images obtained with the DIC optic exhibit typical DIC enhancement in addition to the normal absorption contrast. Contrast transfer functions based on modulation measurements in the obtained images show that the DIC optic gives a significant increase in contrast without reducing the spatial resolution. The phase contrast operation mode now available for our compact soft x-ray microscope will be a useful tool for future studies of samples with low absorption contrast.

13 nm high-efficiency nickel-germanium soft x-ray zone plates

Zone plates are used as objectives for high-resolution x-ray microscopy. Both high resolution and high diffraction efficiency are crucial parameters for the performance of the lens. In this article, the authors demonstrate the fabrication of high-resolution soft x-ray zone plates with improved diffraction efficiency by combining a nanofabrication process for high resolution with a process for high diffraction efficiency. High-resolution Ni zone plates are fabricated by applying cold development of electron-beam-patterned ZEP 7000 in a trilayer-resist process combined with Ni-electroplating. High-diffraction-efficiency Ni–Ge zone plates are realized by fabricating the Ni zone plate on a Ge film and then using the finished zone plate as etch mask for anisotropic CHF3 reactive ion etching into the underlying Ge, resulting in a Ni–Ge zone plate with improved aspect ratio and zone plate efficiency. Ni–Ge zone plates with 13 nm outermost zone width composed of 35 nm Ni on top of 45 nm Ge were fabricated. For co...

Single-optical-element soft-x-ray interferometry with a laser-plasma x-ray source

We report on a compact interferometer for the water-window soft-x-ray range that is suitable for operation with laser-plasma sources. The interferometer consists of a single diffractive optical element that focuses impinging x rays to two focal spots. The light from these two secondary sources forms the interference pattern. The interferometer was operated with a liquid-nitrogen jet laser-plasma source at lambda=2.88 nm. Scalar wave-field propagation was used to simulate the interference pattern, showing good correspondence between theoretical and experimental results. The diffractive optical element can simultaneously be used as an imaging optic, and we demonstrate soft-x-ray microscopy with interferometric contrast enhancement of a phase object.

Controlled electroplating for high-aspect-ratio zone-plate fabrication

The authors report a method for monitoring, control, and end-point detection of electroplating in nanostructures. The method is demonstrated on nickel plating into polymer molds, which is an import ...

Compact Zernike phase contrast x-ray microscopy using a single-element optic

We demonstrate Zernike phase contrast in a compact soft x-ray microscope using a single-element optic. The optic is a combined imaging zone plate and a Zernike phase plate and does not require any additional alignment or components. Contrast is increased and inversed in an image of a test object using the Zernike zone plate. This type of optic may be implemented into any existing x-ray microscope where phase contrast is of interest.