R. Steven Turley

Highly reflective uranium mirrors for astrophysics applications

The reported optical constants of uranium differ from that of vacuum significantly more than other elements do over the range of about 150 to 350 eV. This suggests that uranium could be used to produce high reflectance imaging mirrors for many soft x-ray applications. Elemental uranium is too chemically active to be used as a front surface mirror without protection. We computed the expected reflectance of carbon-coated uranium films and of uranium-nickel alloys for low-angle reflectors. Carbon is mostly transparent below its K absorption edge at about 283 eV. The reflectance at 10 degrees from grazing is computed to be greater than 50% at 277 eV (C Kα). For comparison, about 5 degrees is the maximum grazing incidence angle for which conventional materials are computed to have comparable reflectance. We sputter deposited and measured the reflectance of carbon-coated uranium layers at 44.7 Å (C Kα). Sample reflectance was a factor of two greater than that of nickel, the material used for low-angle mirrors. The initial oxidation behavior of sputtered uranium-nickel alloys is similar to pure U so their reflectance was not determined. Coatings based on uranium should be considered for all applications where high-reflectance, broadband, low-angle soft x-ray mirrors are required

Measured Optical Constants of Copper from 10 nm to 35 nm

We use laser high-order harmonics and a polarization-ratio-reflectance technique to determine the optical constants of copper and oxidized copper in the wavelength range 10-35 nm. This measurement resolves previously conflicting data sets, where disagreement on optical constants of copper in the extreme ultraviolet most likely arises from inadvertent oxidation of samples before measurement.

Dual Function EUV Multilayer Mirrors for the IMAGE Mission

We have developed a new family of EUV multilayer mirror coatings using uranium. Using this approach we have coated a set of six mirrors for the EUV Imager, a component of the IMAGE mission. This mission is a Medium Explorer (MIDEX) program, which is scheduled for launch early in 2000. The EUV Imager will study the distribution of He+ in the Earths plasmasphere by detecting its resonantly scattered emission at 30.4 nm (41 eV) and will produce images of the structure and dynamics of the cold plasma on a global scale. There is, however, a bright emission at 58.4 nm (21 eV), which comes from neutral helium in the earths ionosphere which also must be blocked. These photons are at too high an energy to filter with aluminum but at too low an energy to have negligible reflectance from most materials commonly used in EUV mirrors. Thus, a multilayer system which satisfied two optical functions, high reflectance (greater than 20%) at 41 eV and low reflectance (less than 2%) at 21 eV, were designed and successfully fabricated. Such mirrors with dual optical functions in the soft x-ray/EUV had not previously been designed or built. These specifications were particularly challenging because many materials have higher single layer reflectances at 58.4 nm than at 30.4 nm. Essentially, the mirror must have low reflectance at 21 eV without loss of reflection at 30.4 nm. This was accomplished. The top part of the multilayer, which reflects well at 30.4 nm, also acts as antireflection layers at 58.4 nm. In the past, multilayers usually have consisted of periodic bilayers. We have explored the use of a periodic mirrors in place of the standard periodic designs. Along the way we have created the computational tools, which include genetic algorithms, to optimize selection of materials and thicknesses. We are currently in the process of building up an EUV characterization system and developing a general way of measuring the optical constants of air-sensitive thin films. We discuss the other material and fabrication challenges faced, which include: (1) The high absorption of almost everything in the EUV. This means that only a few interfaces in a multilayer will contribute to its reflectance. (2) Surface contamination and corrosion. (3) The deposition on flight mirrors that are highly curved (f equals 0.8).© (1999) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

A balloon lens: Acoustic scattering from a penetrable sphere

A balloon filled with a gas that has a different sound speed than that of air has been used as an acoustic lens. One purpose of the lens is to show refraction of sound waves in an analogy to geometric optics. We discuss the physics of the balloon lens demonstration. To determine the validity of a gas-filled balloon as a classroom demonstration of an acoustic lens and to understand the corresponding phenomena, its physics is considered analytically, numerically, and experimentally. Our results show that although a geometric analogy is a good first-order approximation, scattering theory is required to fully understand the observed phenomena. Thus this demonstration can be adapted to a wide range of students, from those learning the basic principles of refraction to advanced students studying scattering.

Characterization of optical constants for uranium from 10 to 47 nm

We use a laser high-harmonics-based extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) polarimeter to determine the optical constants of elemental uranium in the wavelength range from 10 to 47 nm. The constants are extracted from the measured ratio of p-polarized to s-polarized reflectance from a thin uranium film deposited in situ. The film thickness is inferred from a spectroscopic ellipsometry measurement of the sample after complete oxidation in room air. Uranium has been used as a high-reflectance material in the EUV. However, difficulties with oxidation prevented its careful characterization previous to this study. We find that measured optical constants for uranium vary significantly from previous estimates.

Extreme-ultraviolet polarimeter utilizing laser-generated high-order harmonics

We describe an extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) polarimeter that employs laser-generated high-order harmonics as the light source. The polarimeter is designed to characterize materials and thin films for use with EUV light. Laser high harmonics are highly directional with easily rotatable linear polarization, not typically available with other EUV sources. The harmonics have good wavelength coverage, potentially spanning the entire EUV from a few to a hundred nanometers. Our instrument is configured to measure reflectances from 14 to 30 nm and has approximately 180 spectral resolution (lambda/Delta lambda). The reflection from a sample surface can be measured over a continuous range of incident angles (5 degrees-75 degrees). A secondary 14 cm gas cell attenuates the harmonics in a controlled way to keep signals within the linear dynamic range of the detector, comprised of a microchannel plate coupled to a phosphorous screen and charge coupled device camera. The harmonics are produced using approximately 10 mJ, approximately 35 fs, and approximately 800 nm laser pulses with a repetition rate of 10 Hz. Per-shot energy monitoring of the laser discriminates against fluctuations. The polarimeter reflectance data agree well with data obtained at the Advanced Light Source Synchrotron (Beamline 6.3.2).

Uranium Oxide as a Highly Reflective Coating from 100-400 eV

We present the measured reflectances (Beamline 6.3.2, ALS at LBNL) of naturally oxidized uranium and naturally oxidized nickel thin films from 100–460 eV (2.7 to 11.6 nm) at 5 and 15 degrees grazing incidence. These show that uranium, as UO2, can fulfill its promise as the highest known single surface reflector for this portion of the soft x‐ray region, being nearly twice as reflective as nickel in the 124–250 eV (5–10 nm) region. This is due to its large index of refraction coupled with low absorption. Nickel is commonly used in soft x‐ray applications in astronomy and synchrotrons. (Its reflectance at 10° exceeds that of Au and Ir for most of this range.) We prepared uranium and nickel thin films via DC‐magnetron sputtering of a depleted U target and resistive heating evaporation respectively. Ambient oxidation quickly brought the U sample to UO2 (total thickness about 30 nm). The nickel sample (50 nm) also acquired a thin native oxide coating (<2nm). Though the density of U in UO2 is only half of the m...

Intense XUV source of radiation within the 4- to 45-nm spectral range based on capillary discharge plasmas

A compact device, based on fast capillary discharge plasmas, is an intense EUV and soft x-ray source of radiation. Th plasma is created by a discharge of low-inductance capacitors through a gas-filled ceramic capillary. Parameters of the discharge are: maximum current of 25 kA at applied voltage 40 kV, a pulse duration of 20-30 ns at FWHM, and a rise time of 1.5 ns. The soft x-ray and EUV emission of multiply charged ions is investigated using a compact 1 meter grazing incidence spectrometer-monochromator with a constant angle of deviation. The use of various gases allows the observation of XUV spectra in a wide spectral range (4- 45 nm). A Xe-filled capillary discharge shows intense radiation near 13.5 nm - the region of interest for EUV lithography applications. A reflectometer is used for testing grazing incidence gratings.

Optical constants of sputtered U and a-Si at 30.4 and 58.4 nm

This paper is a report on our effort to use reflectance measurements of a set of amorphous silicon (a-Si) and uranium (U) multilayer mirrors with an uranium oxide overcoat to obtain the optical constants of a-Si and uranium. The optical constants of U, its oxides, and Si, whether crystalline or amorphous, at 30.4 and 58.4 nm in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) are a source of uncertainty in the design of multilayer optics. Measured reflectances of multilayer mirror coatings do not agree with calculated reflectances using existing optical constants at all wavelengths. We have calculated the magnitude and the direction of the shift in the optical constants of U and a-Si from reflectivity measurements of DC magnetron sputtered a-Si/U multilayers at 30.4 and 58.4 nm. The reflectivity of the multilayers were measured using a UV hollow cathode plasma light source, a 1 meter VUV monochromator, a back-thinned CCD camera, and a channeltron detector. These reflectance measurements were verified by measurements made at LBNL. The reflectances of the multilayer coatings were measured at 14.5 degrees from normal to the mirror surface. The optical constants were calculated using IMD which uses CURVEFIT to fit the optical constants to reflectivity measurements of a range of multilayer mirrors that varied over a span of 150 - 25.0 nm bilayer thickness. The effects of surface oxide and roughness, interdiffusion, and interfacial roughness were numerically subtracted in fitting the optical constants. The (delta) , (beta) determined at 30.4 nm does not well match the values of c-Si published in the literature (HBOC1), but do approach those of a-Si as reported in literature (HBOC). The difference in the optical constants of c-Si and a-Si are larger than can be attributed to differences in density. Why the optical constants of these two materials vary at 30.4 remains an open question.© (1999) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Thorium-Based Thin Films as Highly Reflective Mirrors in the EUV

As applications for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation have been identified, the demand for better optics has also increased. Thorium and thorium oxide thin films (19 to 61 nm thick) were RF-sputtered and characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM), spectroscopic ellipsometry, low-angle x-ray diffraction (LAXRD), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) in order to assess their capability as EUV reflectors. Their reflectance and absorption at different energies were also measured and analyzed at the Advanced Light Source in Berkeley. The reflectance of oxidized thorium is reported between 2 and 32 nm at 5, 10, and 15 degrees from grazing. The imaginary component of the complex index of refraction, β, is also reported between 12.5 and 18 nm. Thin films of thorium were found to reflect better between 6.5 and 9.4 nm at 5 degrees from grazing than all other known materials, including iridium, gold, nickel, uranium dioxide, and uranium nitride. The measured reflectance does not coincide with reflectance curves calculated from the Center for X-Ray Optics (CXRO) atomic scattering factor data. We observe large energy shifts of up to 20 eV, suggesting the need for better film characterization and possibly an update of the tabulated optical constants.