Vitaliy A. Guzenko

Ultra-high resolution zone-doubled diffractive X-ray optics for the multi-keV regime

X-ray microscopy based on Fresnel zone plates is a powerful technique for sub-100 nm resolution imaging of biological and inorganic materials. Here, we report on the modeling, fabrication and characterization of zone-doubled Fresnel zone plates for the multi-keV regime (4-12 keV). We demonstrate unprecedented spatial resolution by resolving 15 nm lines and spaces in scanning transmission X-ray microscopy, and focusing diffraction efficiencies of 7.5% at 6.2 keV photon energy. These developments represent a significant step towards 10 nm spatial resolution for hard X-ray energies of up to 12 keV.

Direct e-beam writing of dense and high aspect ratio nanostructures in thick layers of PMMA for electroplating

Due to the ability of 100 keV electrons to penetrate deep into resist with little scattering, we were able to directly write various dense and high aspect ratio nanostructures in 540 nm and 1.1 microm thick layers of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) resist. The PMMA molds produced by electron beam lithography were developed using a high contrast developer. The molds were used to transfer the pattern into metallic nanostructures by filling the developed trenches with Au by electroplating. By exposing lines narrower than the target width, we observed improved process latitude and line width control. The obtained aspect ratios of the dense structures are nearly 20 in 1.1 microm PMMA layers and > 16 for structures electroplated into this PMMA mold. The fabrication method was successfully applied to produce Au diffractive x-ray Fresnel zone plates of exceptionally good quality with 50 and 70 nm outermost zones using 540 nm and 1.1 microm thick PMMA molds. In addition, we also produced regular arrays of high aspect ratio and dense Au nanorods with periods down to 100 nm and high aspect ratio split-ring resonators.

Nanofocusing of hard X-ray free electron laser pulses using diamond based Fresnel zone plates

A growing number of X-ray sources based on the free-electron laser (XFEL) principle are presently under construction or have recently started operation. The intense, ultrashort pulses of these sources will enable new insights in many different fields of science. A key problem is to provide x-ray optical elements capable of collecting the largest possible fraction of the radiation and to focus into the smallest possible focus. As a key step towards this goal, we demonstrate here the first nanofocusing of hard XFEL pulses. We developed diamond based Fresnel zone plates capable of withstanding the full beam of the worlds most powerful x-ray laser. Using an imprint technique, we measured the focal spot size, which was limited to 320 nm FWHM by the spectral band width of the source. A peak power density in the focal spot of 4×1017 W/cm2 was obtained at 70 fs pulse length.

Understanding the Electrolyte Background for Biochemical Sensing with Ion-Sensitive Field-Effect Transistors

Silicon nanowire field-effect transistors have attracted substantial interest for various biochemical sensing applications, yet there remains uncertainty concerning their response to changes in the supporting electrolyte concentration. In this study, we use silicon nanowires coated with highly pH-sensitive hafnium oxide (HfO(2)) and aluminum oxide (Al(2)O(3)) to determine their response to variations in KCl concentration at several constant pH values. We observe a nonlinear sensor response as a function of ionic strength, which is independent of the pH value. Our results suggest that the signal is caused by the adsorption of anions (Cl(-)) rather than cations (K(+)) on both oxide surfaces. By comparing the data to three well-established models, we have found that none of those can explain the present data set. Finally, we propose a new model which gives excellent quantitative agreement with the data.

High-efficiency Fresnel zone plates for hard X-rays by 100 keV e-beam lithography and electroplating.

The efficiencies of several Fresnel zone plates, that were fabricated using a direct-write method with high-energy electrons, were measured over a wide range of photon energies.

True Reference Nanosensor Realized with Silicon Nanowires

Conventional gate oxide layers (e.g., SiO(2), Al(2)O(3), or HfO(2)) in silicon field-effect transistors (FETs) provide highly active surfaces, which can be exploited for electronic pH sensing. Recently, great progress has been achieved in pH sensing using compact integrateable nanowire FETs. However, it has turned out to be much harder to realize a true reference electrode, which--while sensing the electrostatic potential--does not respond to the proton concentration. In this work, we demonstrate a highly effective reference sensor, a so-called reference FET, whose proton sensitivity is suppressed by as much as 2 orders of magnitude. To do so, the Al(2)O(3) surface of a nanowire FET was passivated with a self-assembled monolayer of silanes with a long alkyl chain. We have found that a full passivation can be achieved only after an extended period of self-assembling lasting several days at 80 °C. We use this slow process to measure the number of active proton binding sites as a function of time by a quantitative comparison of the measured nonlinear pH-sensitivities to a theoretical model (site-binding model). Furthermore, we have found that a partially passivated surface can sense small changes in the number of active binding sites reaching a detection limit of δN(s) ≈ 170 μm(-2) Hz(-1/2) at 10 Hz and pH 3.

Dense high aspect ratio hydrogen silsesquioxane nanostructures by 100 keV electron beam lithography.

We investigated the fabrication of dense, high aspect ratio hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) nanostructures by 100 keV electron beam lithography. The samples were developed using a high contrast developer and supercritically dried in carbon dioxide. Dense gratings with line widths down to 25 nm were patterned in 500 nm-thick resist layers and semi-dense gratings with line widths down to 10 nm (40 nm pitch) were patterned in 250 nm-thick resist layers. The dense HSQ nanostructures were used as molds for gold electrodeposition, and the semi-dense HSQ gratings were iridium-coated by atomic layer deposition. We used these methods to produce Fresnel zone plates with extreme aspect ratio for scanning transmission x-ray microscopy that showed excellent performance at 1.0 keV photon energy.

Interlaced zone plate optics for hard X-ray imaging in the 10 nm range

Multi-keV X-ray microscopy has been particularly successful in bridging the resolution gap between optical and electron microscopy. However, resolutions below 20 nm are still considered challenging, as high throughput direct imaging methods are limited by the availability of suitable optical elements. In order to bridge this gap, we present a new type of Fresnel zone plate lenses aimed at the sub-20 and the sub-10 nm resolution range. By extending the concept of double-sided zone plate stacking, we demonstrate the doubling of the effective line density and thus the resolution and provide large aperture, singlechip optical devices with 15 and 7 nm smallest zone widths. The detailed characterization of these lenses shows excellent optical properties with focal spots down to 7.8 nm. Beyond wave front characterization, the zone plates also excel in typical imaging scenarios, verifying their resolution close to their diffraction limited optical performance.

Generation of high-resolution kagome lattice structures using extreme ultraviolet interference lithography

High-resolution kagome lattice structures with feature sizes down to the sub-50 nm regime are fabricated using diffraction-based extreme ultraviolet interference lithography. The resulting interference pattern of multiple beams is sensitive to the relative phase of the interfering beams. The precise control of their phases is achieved by precise positioning of transmission diffraction gratings on a mask using a high-end electron beam lithography tool. The presented method may find applications in providing high-resolution and large-area kagome lattice structures for studies on frustrated magnetic systems, photonic crystals, and plasmonics.

High-efficiency zone-plate optics for multi-keV X-ray focusing

High-efficiency nanofocusing of hard X-rays using stacked multilevel Fresnel zone plates with a smallest zone width of 200 nm is demonstrated. The approach is to approximate the ideal parabolic lens profile with two-, three-, four- and six-level zone plates. By stacking binary and three-level zone plates with an additional binary zone plate, the number of levels in the optical transmission function was doubled, resulting in four- and six-level profiles, respectively. Efficiencies up to 53.7% focusing were experimentally obtained with 6.5 keV photons using a compact alignment apparatus based on piezoelectric actuators. The measurements have also been compared with numerical simulations to study the misalignment of the two zone plates.