Pd/B_4C/Y multilayer coatings for extreme ultraviolet applications near 10 nm wavelength

A new extreme ultraviolet (EUV) multilayer coating has been developed comprising Pd and Y layers with thin B4C barrier layers at each interface, for normal incidence applications near 10 nm wavelength. Periodic, nonperiodic, and dual-stack coatings have been investigated and compared with similar structures comprising either Mo/Y or Pd/B4C bilayers. We find that Pd/B4C/Y multilayers provide higher reflectance than either Mo/Y or Pd/B4C, with much lower film stress than Pd/B4C. We have also investigated the performance of periodic multilayers comprising repetitions of Pd/Y, Ru/Y, or Ru/B4C/Y, as well as Pd/B4C multilayers deposited using reactive sputtering with an Ar:N2 gas mixture in order to reduce stress: these material combinations were all found to provide poor EUV performance. The temporal stability of a periodic Pd/B4C/Y multilayer stored in air was investigated over a period of 16 months, and a slight reduction in peak reflectance was observed. Periodic Pd/B4C/Y multilayers were also found to be thermally stable up to 100°C; at higher temperatures (200°C and 300°C) we observe a slight reduction in peak reflectance and a slight increase in multilayer period. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area diffraction of an as-deposited Pd/B4C/Y film indicates a fully amorphous structure, with interfaces that are both smoother and more abrupt than those observed in a comparable Pd/B4C multilayer in which the Pd layers are polycrystalline. The new Pd/B4C/Y multilayers are suitable for normal-incidence imaging and spectroscopy applications, including solar physics, plasma physics, high-brightness EUV light sources, and others.