13 nm high-efficiency nickel-germanium soft x-ray zone plates

Zone plates are used as objectives for high-resolution x-ray microscopy. Both high resolution and high diffraction efficiency are crucial parameters for the performance of the lens. In this article, the authors demonstrate the fabrication of high-resolution soft x-ray zone plates with improved diffraction efficiency by combining a nanofabrication process for high resolution with a process for high diffraction efficiency. High-resolution Ni zone plates are fabricated by applying cold development of electron-beam-patterned ZEP 7000 in a trilayer-resist process combined with Ni-electroplating. High-diffraction-efficiency Ni-Ge zone plates are realized by fabricating the Ni zone plate on a Ge film and then using the finished zone plate as etch mask for anisotropic CHF3 reactive ion etching into the underlying Ge, resulting in a Ni-Ge zone plate with improved aspect ratio and zone plate efficiency. Ni-Ge zone plates with 13 nm outermost zone width composed of 35 nm Ni on top of 45 nm Ge were fabricated. For comparable Ni and Ni-Ge zone plates with an outermost zone width of 15 nm, the diffraction efficiency was measured to be 2.4% and 4.3%, respectively, i.e., an enhancement of a factor of 2. (C) 2011 American Vacuum Society. [DOI: 10.1116/1.3520457]