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In this contribution we present our recent results in the field of diffractive optics for both soft and hard x-ray radiation, and for laboratory sources to x-ray free electron lasers (XFEL). We developed a laboratory soft x-ray microscope that uses in-house produced zone plate optics as high-resolution objectives. We continuously try to improve these optics, both in terms of efficiency and resolution. Our latest development is the manufacturing of tungsten soft x-ray zone plates with outermost zone widths of 12 nm and 90 nm high structures. For hard x-rays, we investigated the possibility to use metal zone plates on a diamond substrate for nano-focusing of the European X-ray Free Electron Laser. The simulations show that the heat conduction is efficient enough to keep a zone plate well below melting temperature. However, metal zone plates will experience large and rapid temperature fluctuations of several hundred Kelvin that might prove fatal. To test this, we manufactured tungsten on diamond prototype zone plates and exposed them to radiation from the LCLS XFEL. Results show that metal zone plates can survive the XFEL beam., QC 20140113

Diffractive Fresnel zone plates made of tungsten show great promise for focusing hard x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) radiation to very small spot sizes. However, they have to withstand the high-intensity pulses of the beam without being damaged. This might be problematic since each XFEL pulse will create a significant temperature increase in the zone plate nanostructures and it is therefore crucial that the optics are thermally stable, even for a large number of pulses. Here we have studied the thermal stability of tungsten zone-platelike nanostructures on diamond substrates using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser which creates temperature profiles similar to those expected from XFEL pulses. We found that the structures remained intact up to a laser fluence of 100 mJ cm(-2), corresponding to a 6 keV x-ray fluence of 590 mJ cm-2, which is above typical fluence levels in an unfocused XFEL beam. We have also performed an initial damage experiment at the LCLS hard XFEL facility at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, where a tungsten zone plate on a diamond substrate was exposed to 105 pulses of 6 keV x-rays with a pulse fluence of 350 mJ cm-2 without any damage occurring., QC 20120605

Lens-based water-window X-ray microscopy allows two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) imaging of intact unstained cells in their near-native state with unprecedented contrast and resolution. Cryofixation is essential to avoid radiation damage to the sample. Present cryo X-ray microscopes rely on synchrotron radiation sources, thereby limiting the accessibility for a wider community of biologists. In the present paper we demonstrate water-window cryo X-ray microscopy with a laboratory-source-based arrangement. The microscope relies on a lambda = 2.48-nm liquid-jet high-brightness laser-plasma source, normal-incidence multilayer condenser optics, 30-nm zone-plate optics, and a cryo sample chamber. We demonstrate 2D imaging of test patterns, and intact unstained yeast, protozoan parasites and mammalian cells. Overview 3D information is obtained by stereo imaging while complete 3D microscopy is provided by full tomographic reconstruction. The laboratory microscope image quality approaches that of the synchrotron microscopes, but with longer exposure times. The experimental image quality is analyzed from a numerical wave-propagation model of the imaging system and a path to reach synchrotron-like exposure times in laboratory microscopy is outlined., QC 20120326

We describe the fabrication and evaluation of platinum zone plates for 5–12 kV X-ray imaging and focusing. These nano-scale circular periodic structures are fabricated by filling an e-beam generated mold with Pt in an electroplating process. The plating recipe is described. The resulting zone plates, having outer zone widths of 100 and 50 nm, show good uniformity and high aspect ratio. Their diffraction efficiencies are 50–70% of the theoretical, as measured at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Platinum shows promise to become an attractive alternative to present hard X-ray zone plate materials due to its nano-structuring properties and the potential for zone-plate operation at higher temperatures., QC 20111109

The authors describe a new W–Cr–HSQ trilayer nanofabrication process for high-resolution and high-diffraction-efficiency soft x-ray W zone-plate lenses. High-resolution HSQ gratings were first fabricated by electron-beam lithography and high-contrast development in a NaCl/NaOH solution. The HSQ pattern was then transferred to the Cr layer by RIE with Cl2/O2, and subsequently to the W layer by cryogenic RIE with SF6/O2. The anisotropy of the W etch as a function of substrate temperature was investigated, and the best etch profile was achieved at −50 °C. Using this optimized process, W gratings with half-pitches down to 12 nm and a height of 90 nm were fabricated. For a zone plate with corresponding parameters, this would result in a theoretical diffraction efficiency of 9.6% (at λ = 2.48 nm), twice as high as has been reported previously., QC 20111114

The authors report on a new tungsten-hardmask-based diamond dry-etch process for fabricating diamond zone plate lenses with a high aspect ratio. The tungsten hardmask is structured by electron-beam lithography, together with Cl2/O2 and SF6/O2 reactive ion etching in a trilayer resist-chromium-tungsten stack. The underlying diamond is then etched in an O2 plasma. The authors demonstrate excellent-quality diamond gratings with half-pitch down to 80 nm and a height of 2.6 μm, as well as zone plates with a 75 μm diameter and 100 nm outermost zone width. The diffraction efficiency of the zone plates is measured to 14.5% at an 8 keV x-ray energy, and the imaging properties were investigated in a scanning microscope arrangement showing sub-100-nm resolution. The imaging and thermal properties of these lenses make them suitable for use with high-brightness x-ray free-electron laser sources., QC 20111114

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., QC 20110318

In this paper the latest efforts to improve our nanofabrication process for soft x‐ray zone plates is presented. The resolving power, which is proportional to the smallest outermost zone width of the zone plate, is increased by introducing cold development of the electron beam resist that is used for the patterning. With this process we have fabricated Ni zone plates with 13‐nm outermost zone and shown potential for making 11‐nm half‐pitch lines in the electron beam resist. Maintaining the diffraction efficiency of the zone plate is a great concern when the outermost zone width is decreased. To resolve this problem we have developed the so‐called Ni‐Ge zone plate in which the zone plate is build up by Ni and Ge, resulting in an increase of the diffraction efficiency. In a proof‐of‐principle experiment with 25‐nm Ni‐Ge zone plates, we have shown a doubling of the diffraction efficiency. When combined with cold development, the Ni‐Ge process has been shown to work down to 16‐nm half‐pitch. It is plausible that further refinement of the process will make it possible to go to 10‐nm outermost zone widths., QC 20120206

We demonstrate two nanofabrication methods which improve the diffraction efficiency of high-resolution soft X-ray nickel zone plates. First, pulse electroplating is shown to result in uniform diffraction efficiency over the entire zone-plate area. A resulting enhancement of the total efficiency of 20% compared to conventional DC plating was measured. Second, we demonstrate that a high-resolution cold development process can be combined with efficiency-enhancing dry etching into an underlying germanium film. We present 16 nm half-pitch gratings composed of 50 nm nickel on top of 50 nm germanium., QC 20100525 35th International Conference on Micro-and Nano-Engineering, Ghent, BELGIUM, SEP 28-OCT 01, 2009

We summarize recent progress in laboratory x-ray imaging systems based on compact high-brightness liquid-jet sources, including <25 nm soft x-ray zone-plate microscopy and <10 μm (lens-free) hard x-ray phase-contrast imaging., QC 20150420

We review recent progress in laboratory water-window microscopy including 250 W/0.8 ns/2 kHz laser-plasma liquid-jet sources, 13-nm zone width diffractive optics, diffractive optical elements for phase-contrast microscopy, <25-nm resolution microscopy using compound zone plates, tomography and applications in soil science., QC 20110330

Improving the resolution in x-ray microscopes is of high priority to enable future applications in nanoscience. However, high-resolution zone-plate optics often have low efficiency, which makes implementation in laboratory microscopes difficult. We present a laboratory x-ray microscope based on a compound zone plate. The compound zone plate utilizes multiple diffraction orders to achieve high resolution while maintaining reasonable efficiency. We analyze the illumination conditions necessary for this type of optics in order to suppress stray light and demonstrate microscopic imaging resolving 25 nm features., QC 20100525

This article presents a fabrication process for soft x-ray zone plates in which nickel and germanium are combined to achieve high diffraction efficiency. A nickel zone plate is first fabricated on a germanium film and then used as a hardmask for a CHF3-plasma etch into the germanium. Zone plates with 50-60 nm nickel and 110-150 nm of germanium are presented. The measured diffraction efficiencies were 10%-11% at lambda=2.88 nm, which shows that high efficiency is possible even with thin nickel. Thus, the method has a potential for improving the efficiency of high-resolution zone plates for which the high-aspect-ratio structuring of nickel is difficult., Tidigare titel: High-efficency nickel-germanium soft x-ray zone platesQC 20100728

This article describes the fabrication of soft x-ray germanium zone plates with a process based on reactive ion etching (RIE) in Cl-2. A high degree of anisotropy is achieved by sidewall passivation through cyclic exposure to air. This enables structuring of higher aspect ratios than with earlier reported fabrication processes for germanium zone plates. The results include a zone plate with a 30 nm outermost zone width and a germanium thickness of 310 tun having a first-order diffraction efficiency of 70% of the theoretical value. 25 nm half-pitch gratings were also etched into 310 nut of germanium. Compared to the electroplating process for the commonly used nickel zone plates, the RIE process with Cl-2, for germanium is a major improvement in terms of process reproducibility., QC 20100728

We present the status of our zone plate and test object fabrication processes along with the latest fabricated components. With our nickel process, zone plates with outermost zone width of 20 nm and zone height of 90 nm have been fabricated. A gold electroplating process has recently been introduced for the fabrication of test objects. The first result for gold gratings with 70 nm period and 135 nm height is shown., QC 20110128

We summarize the recent progress in laboratory-scale soft and hard x-ray micro imaging in Stockholm. Our soft x-ray work is based on liquid-jet laser-plasma sources which are combined with diffractive and multilayer optics to form laboratory x-ray microscopes. In the hard x-ray regime the imaging is based on a liquid-metal-jet electron-impact source which provides the necessary coherence to allow phase-contrast imaging with high fidelity., QC 20110128

Cold development was applied to improve the resolution in a trilayer resist that is used for the fabrication of state-of-the-art soft x-ray microscopy zone plates. By decreasing the temperature of the hexyl acetate developer to -50 degrees C, 11 nm half-pitch gratings have been resolved in the electron-beam resist ZEP 7000. 12 nm half-pitch gratings have been successfully transferred, via the intermediate SiO2 hardmask, into the bottom polyimide layer by CHF3 and O-2 reactive ion etching. The trilayer resist, including optimized cold development, has finally been used in an electroplating-based process for the fabrication of nickel zone plates. Zone plates with down to 13 nm outermost zone width have been fabricated and 2.4% average groove diffraction efficiency has been measured for zone plates with 15 nm outermost zone width and a nickel height of 55 nm., QC 20100525