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We study a periodic Co/Mo2C multilayer prepared by magnetron sputtering. The period is 4.1 nm and the sample is designed to work around 778 eV, i.e. close to the Co 2p3/2 threshold, at a glancing angle of 11°. In this condition, strong x-ray standing waves set up within the sample. In order to probe different depths within the stack, particularly the interfaces, the glancing angle is moved along the first Bragg peak, while, the B 1s, C 1s, Mo 3d or O 1s photoelectron spectra, the Co Lα x-ray spectrum as well as the drain current of the sample are measured. Boron is present in the 3.5 nm B4C capping layer and oxygen is from surface contamination. The photoelectrons bring information from the superficial zone, i.e. the 5 first nm, while the characteristic x-rays probe the whole stack. Clear modulations of the intensity of the studied signals as well as core level shifts are observed when going through the Bragg peak. In order to understand what happens in the multilayer calculations of depth distributions of the electric field and the energy loss by the radiation are made with the IMD and OPAL codes, respectively. The combination of experimental results and theoretical simulations will enable us to determine from which place originate the various signals and to know if some interaction exists between the Co and Mo2C layers.

A detector system has been developed for the soft x-ray and extreme UV ranges. It is called DUVEX and has been designed in order to be easy to implement and use, and cheap to operate. It consists in a YAG:Ce scintillator coupled to a photomultiplier module working in the counting mode. The system can be operated under vacuum. We report on the design and the performances of this detector in terms of response, noise, stability and efficiency. Soft x-ray spectra of different elements (from B to W) obtained in the wavelength dispersive mode acquitted with DUVEX are presented.

Periodic multilayers of nanometric period are widely used as optical components for the X-ray and extreme UV (EUV) ranges, in X-ray space telescopes, X-ray microscopes, EUV photolithography or synchrotron beamlines for example. Their optical performances depend on the quality of the interfaces between the various layers: chemical interdiffusion or mechanical roughness shifts the application wavelength and can drastically decrease the reflectance. Since under high thermal charge interdiffusion is known to get enhanced, the study of the thermal stability of such structures is essential to understand how interfacial compounds develop. We have characterized X-ray and EUV siliconcontaining multilayers (Mo/Si, Sc/Si and Mg/SiC) as a function of the annealing temperature (up to 600°C) using two non-destructive methods. X-ray emission from the silicon atoms, describing the Si valence states, is used to determine the chemical nature of the compounds present in the interphases while X-ray reflectivity in the hard and soft X-ray ranges can be related to the optical properties. In the three cases, interfacial metallic (Mo, Sc, Mg) silicides are evidenced and the thickness of the interphase increases with the annealing temperature. For Mo/Si and Sc/Si multilayers, silicides are even present in the as-prepared multilayers. Characteristic parameters of the stacks are determined: composition of the interphases, thickness and roughness of the layers and interphases if any. Finally, we have evidenced the maximum temperature of application of these multilayers to minimize interdiffusion.