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Achromatic Fresnel optics for wideband extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray imaging

Nature volume 424, pages 50–53 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Advances in extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray optics are providing powerful new capabilities in high-resolution imaging and trace-element analysis of microscopic specimens1, and the potential for fabricating devices of smaller critical dimensions in next-generation integrated circuit lithography2. However, achieving the highest resolution with such optics usually requires the illuminating EUV or X-ray beam to be highly monochromatic. It would therefore be highly desirable to have large-field-of-view, sub-100-nm resolution optics that are achromatic to a significant degree, allowing more light to be utilized from broader bandwidth sources such as laser-produced plasmas. Here we report an achromatic Fresnel optical system for EUV or X-ray radiation that combines a Fresnel zone plate with a refractive lens with opposite chromatic aberration. We use the large anomalous dispersion property of the refractive lens material near an absorption edge to make its fabrication practical. The resulting structure can deliver a resolution comparable to that of the Fresnel zone plates that have achieved the highest resolution (25 nm; ref. 3) in the entire electromagnetic spectrum, but with an improvement of two or more orders of magnitude in spectral bandwidth.

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Figure 1: The principle of an achromatic Fresnel lens, and an example of how it can be realized in a single optic.
Figure 2: X-ray optical constants and their consequences for EUV and soft X-ray achromatic Fresnel objectives.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Kirz for discussions, and S. Frigo for information about the calculation of Kramers–Kronig transforms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Xradia, Inc., 4075A Sprig Drive, Concord, California, 94520, USA

    Yuxin Wang, Wenbing Yun & Chris Jacobsen

  2. Department of Physics & Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794, USA

    Chris Jacobsen

  3. Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794

    Chris Jacobsen

Authors
  1. Yuxin Wang
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  2. Wenbing Yun
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wenbing Yun.

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Competing interests

A US patent has been applied for on behalf of Xradia Inc. regarding achromatic Fresnel optics. Pre-commercialization development efforts are presently underway.

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Wang, Y., Yun, W. & Jacobsen, C. Achromatic Fresnel optics for wideband extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray imaging. Nature 424, 50–53 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01756

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