Very Fine Line Grating Lithography

High performance optics for the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft x-ray regions of the spectrum are technologically difficult. Reflecting optics, often based on multilayer reflection, are the only practical optic for most applications. MOXTEK has developed considerable expertise in multilayers for use in soft x-ray and EUV optics. The goal is to combine multilayers and other emerging technologies to innovate and develop very fine line width (,0.1 ~m period or 10,000 lines per mm) multilayer diffraction gratings for the EUV and soft x-ray spectrum. We propose with this SBIR to innovate and develop a fine line lithography technology to enable the fabrication of these very fine line gratings. Technology essential to fabricate useful, high spectral resolving power (> 10,000) diffractive and imaging optics for these wavelengths will be the final result. These optics will provide the spectral resolution to enable more accurate measurements, and a more detailed understanding, of x-ray and EUV spectra and the phenomena which produce radiation at these wavelengths. A side benefit of this innovative research and development will be the ability to fabricate other optics which are waiting for practical fine line lithography, such as visible light wire grid polarizers.