Viacheslav Medvedev

Infrared antireflective filtering for extreme ultraviolet multilayer Bragg reflectors

An extreme ultraviolet multilayer mirror with an integrated spectral filter for the IR range is presented and experimentally evaluated. The system consists of an IR-transparent B4C/Si multilayer stack which is used both as EUV-reflective coating and as a phase shift layer of the resonant IR antireflective (AR) coating. The AR coating is optimized in our particular case to suppress CO2 laser radiation at a wavelength of 10.6 μm, and a suppression of more than two orders of magnitude is demonstrated. The method allows high suppression over a large angular acceptance range, relevant for application in lithography systems.

Infrared suppression by hybrid EUV multilayer-IR etalon structures

We have developed a multilayer mirror for extreme UV (EUV) radiation (13.5u2009nm), which has near-zero reflectance for IR line radiation (10.6u2009μm). The EUV reflecting multilayer is based on alternating B4C and Si layers. Substantial transparency of these materials with respect to the IR radiation allowed the integration of the multilayer coating in a resonant quarter-wave structure for 10.6u2009μm. Samples were manufactured using magnetron sputtering deposition technique and demonstrated suppression of the IR radiation by up to 3 orders of magnitude. The EUV peak reflectance amounts 45% at 13.5u2009nm, with a bandwidth at FWHM being 0.284u2009nm. Therefore such a mirror could replace conventional multilayer mirrors to suppress undesired spectral components in monochromatic imaging applications, including EUV photolithography.

Spectral tailoring of nanoscale EUV and soft x-ray multilayer optics

Extreme ultraviolet and soft X-ray (XUV) multilayer optics have experienced significant development over the past few years, particularly on controlling the spectral characteristics of light for advanced applications like EUV photolithography, space observation, and accelerator- or lab-based XUV experiments. Both planar and three dimensional multilayer structures have been developed to tailor the spectral response in a wide wavelength range. For the planar multilayer optics, different layered schemes are explored. Stacks of periodic multilayers and capping layers are demonstrated to achieve multi-channel reflection or suppression of the reflective properties. Aperiodic multilayer structures enable broadband reflection both in angles and wavelengths, with the possibility of polarization control. The broad wavelength band multilayer is also used to shape attosecond pulses for the study of ultrafast phenomena. Narrowband multilayer monochromators are delivered to bridge the resolution gap between crystals an...

Multilayer mirror with enhanced spectral selectivity for the next generation extreme ultraviolet lithography

We have demonstrated a hybrid extreme ultraviolet (EUV) multilayer mirror for 6.x nm radiation that provides selective suppression for infrared (IR) radiation. The mirror consists of an IR-transparent LaN∕B multilayer stack which is used as EUV-reflective coating and antireflective (AR) coating to suppress IR. The AR coating can be optimized to suppress CO2 laser radiation at the wavelength of 10.6u2009μm, which is of interest for application in next-generation EUV lithography systems.

Phosphorus-based compounds for EUV multilayer optics materials

We have evaluated the prospects of phosphorus-based compounds in extreme ultraviolet multilayer optics. Boron phosphide (BP) is suggested to be used as a spacer material in reflective multilayer optics operating just above the L-photoabsorption edge of P (λ ≈9.2 nm). Mo, Ag, Ru, Rh, and Pd were considered for applications as reflector materials. Our calculations for multilayer structures with perfect interfaces show that the Pd/BP material combination suggests the highest reflectivity values, exceeding 70% within the 9.2 – 10.0 nm spectral range. We also discuss the potential of fabrication of BP-based multilayer structures for optical applications in the extreme ultraviolet range

UV spectral filtering by surface structured multilayer mirrors

A surface structured extreme ultraviolet multilayer mirror was developed showing full band suppression of UV (λ=100-400u2009u2009nm) and simultaneously a high reflectance of EUV light (λ=13.5u2009u2009nm). The surface structure consists of Si pyramids, which are substantially transparent for EUV but reflective for UV light. The reflected UV is filtered out by blazed diffraction, interference, and absorption. A first demonstration pyramid structure was fabricated on a multilayer by using a straightforward deposition technique. It shows an average suppression of 14 times over the whole UV range and an EUV reflectance of 56.2% at 13.5 nm. This robust scheme can be used as a spectral purity solution for all XUV sources that emit longer wavelength radiation as well.

Anisotropy of heat conduction in Mo/Si multilayers

This paper reports on the studies of anisotropic heat conduction phenomena in Mo/Si multilayers with individual layer thicknesses selected to be smaller than the mean free path of heat carriers. We applied the frequency-domain thermoreflectance technique to characterize the thermal conductivity tensor. While the mechanisms of the cross-plane heat conduction were studied in detail previously, here we focus on the in-plane heat conduction. To analyze the relative contribution of electron transport to the in-plane heat conduction, we applied sheet-resistance measurements. Results of Mo/Si multilayers with variable thickness of the Mo layers indicate that the net in-plane thermal conductivity depends on the microstructure of the Mo layers.