A 10,000 groove/mm multilayer coated grating for EUV spectroscopy.

Ultra-high spectral resolution in the EUV and soft x-ray energy ranges requires the use of very high line density gratings with optimal design resulting in use of a Blazed Multilayer Grating (BMG) structure. Here we demonstrate the production of near-atomically perfect Si blazed substrates with an ultra-high groove density (10,000 l/mm) together with the measured and theoretical performance of an Al/Zr multilayer coating on the grating. A 1st order absolute efficiency of 13% and 24.6% was achieved at incidence angles of 11° and 36° respectively. Cross-sectional TEM shows the effect of smoothing caused by the surface mobility of deposited atoms and we correlate this effect with a reduction in peak diffraction efficiency. This work shows the high performance that can be achieved with BMGs based on small-period anisotropic etched Si substrates, but also the constraints imposed by the surface mobility of deposited species.

Super-radiant mode in InAs-monolayer-based Bragg structures.

We report direct experimental evidence of the collective super-radiant mode in Bragg structure containing 60 InAs monolayer-based quantum wells (QWs) periodically arranged in GaAs matrix. Time-resolved photoluminescence measurements reveal an appearance of the additional super-radiant mode, originated from coherent collective interaction of QWs. This mode demonstrates a super-linear dependence of the intensity and radiative decay rate on the excitation power. The super-radiant mode is not manifested in the case if only a small number of QWs is excited.

Efficiency of a grazing-incidence off-plane grating in the soft-x-ray region.

Efficiency measurements of a grazing-incidence diffraction grating in the off-plane mount were performed using polarized synchrotron radiation. The grating had 5000 grooves/mm, an effective blaze angle of 14 degrees, and was gold coated. The efficiencies in the two polarization orientations (TM and TE) were measured in the 1.5-5.0 nm wavelength range and were compared with the efficiencies calculated using the PCGrate-SX code. The TM and TE efficiencies differ, offering the possibility of performing unique science studies of astrophysical, solar, and laboratory sources by exploiting the polarization sensitivity of the off-plane grating.

Thin-film interference effects on the efficiency of a normal-incidence grating in the 100-350-A wavelength region.

Thin-film interference effects were observed in the normal-incidence efficiency of a 2400-groove/mm replica grating. The efficiency was measured in the 100-350-A wavelength range and had an oscillatory behavior that resulted from the presence of a thin SiO(2) coating. The thicknesses of the SiO(2) and the underlying oxidized aluminum layers were inferred from computer modeling of the zero-order efficiency. The efficiencies in the diffracted orders were calculated with the modified integral approach and accounting for the multilayer coating and the groove profile derived from atomic force microscopy. The calculated and measured efficiencies were in good agreement.

Comparison of the calculated and the measured efficiencies of a normal-incidence grating in the 125-225- A wavelength range.

The efficiency of a diffraction grating was measured near normal incidence in the 125-225-A wavelength range with synchrotron radiation. The grating pattern had 2400 grooves/mm and was recorded on a concave fused-silica blank by a holographic technique. The grooves were shaped by ion-beam etching to provide a facet with a blaze angle of 2.5 degrees as determined by atomic force microscopy. Because of the characteristics of the etching process the groove profile was approximately triangular, with the other facet inclined at an angle of 5.5 degrees to the surface. The measured efficiency was compared with the efficiency calculated by a computer program, small enough to run on a personal computer, that solved the periodic boundary-value problem corresponding to electromagnetic radiation incident on a diffraction grating with finite conductivity. The calculation was based on the nominal groove profile that was determined by atomic force microscopy. The measured and the calculated efficiencies were in good agreement. This investigation indicates that the diffraction efficiency of a normal-incidence grating can be calculated in the soft-x-ray region with a personal computer.