Optical Coatings
CXRO’s optical coatings facility designs, deposits, and characterizes multilayer and single-layer thin-film coatings for EUV and soft X-ray optics. Traditional refractive lenses cannot work with X-ray and EUV light because absorption is too high — to bend and focus light at these wavelengths, optical systems must employ reflective coatings called multilayers, containing alternating layers of materials only a few atoms thick. CXRO has been pioneering multilayer technology since 1984, and our coatings are used in lithography tools, synchrotron beamlines, space telescopes, and plasma diagnostics instruments worldwide.
Deposition Systems
Magnetron Sputtering
DC and RF magnetron sputtering systems for depositing Mo/Si, Mo/Be, and other multilayer systems with sub-angstrom thickness control and excellent uniformity over large substrates.
Ion-Beam Sputtering
Ion-beam deposition produces ultrasmooth films with low interface roughness, critical for achieving peak reflectivity in EUV multilayers.
Large-Area Coating
Systems accommodate optics up to 300 mm diameter with thickness uniformity better than 0.1% for synchrotron and telescope mirror coatings.
In Situ Metrology
Real-time thickness monitoring using quartz crystal microbalances and reflectance measurements ensures precise layer thickness control during deposition.
Multilayer Science
By tailoring layer thicknesses and overall structure, reflectivity and optical properties can be customized for many applications. To work with high efficiency and maintain the correct phase of reflected light, layer thicknesses must be controlled to a level smaller than the width of a single atom. Multilayers can also be designed to reflect different frequencies at different depths, enabling attosecond pulse compression, or to reflect broadband light using an aperiodic layer structure.
Coating Types
| System | Wavelength Range | Peak Reflectivity |
|---|---|---|
| Mo/Si | 12.5–15 nm | > 70% |
| Mo/Be | 11.1–12.5 nm | > 70% |
| Broadband multilayers | Custom EUV / SXR | Application dependent |
| Single-layer metals | Grazing incidence SXR | > 80% (at design angle) |
Related Research
Coatings are characterized using Reflectometry. The science of multilayer optics is part of Optical Materials & Interfaces research.
