Table-top soft X-ray microscopy with a laser-induced plasma source based on a pulsed gas-jet

Müller, Matthias; Mey, Tobias; Niemeyer, J.; Lorenz, Maike; Mann, Klaus

doi:10.1063/1.4961137

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Making use of the long-term stable and nearly debris-free laser-produced plasma from a pulsed nitrogen gas jet target, an extremely compact soft X-ray microscope operating in the "water window" region at the wavelength λ = 2.88 nm was installed and tested [11,12]. The setup of this table-top soft X-ray microscope is depicted in Fig.…”

Section: Soft X-ray Microscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Magnification and exposure time vary from 175 to 500 and 5 min to 60 min, respectively. a, e, f reproduced from [12], with permission of AIP Publishing. d reprinted with permission from [11], Optical Society of America the sample at λ = 2.88 nm wavelength.…”

Section: Soft X-ray Microscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Figure 21.5c shows a corresponding micrograph, indicating an almost uniform illumination over a field of view of about 10 µm. Structures with a size of about 50 nm are resolved in all directions [12]. Furthermore, various biological and geological samples were investigated (see Fig.…”

Section: Soft X-ray Microscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Laboratory-Scale Soft X-ray Source for Microscopy and Absorption Spectroscopy

Müller

Mann

2020

Topics in Applied Physics

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Soft X-ray microscopy and absorption spectroscopy are extremely useful tools for high-resolution imaging and chemical analysis of samples in various scientific fields. However, due to the required high photon flux of soft X-ray radiation, up to now, both methods are almost exclusively performed at synchrotron sources. Thus, great efforts have been made to develop table-top sources emitting in the soft X-ray spectral range ($$\lambda =$$ λ = 1–5 nm). Here, the development of a laser-produced plasma source from a pulsed gas jet is presented, enabling the construction of an almost debris-free, compact and long-term stable X-ray source. Based on this source a compact soft X-ray microscope (spatial resolution 50 nm) operating at a wavelength of $$\lambda = 2.88$$ λ = 2.88 nm was built and applied for imaging of various test and biological objects. In addition, a laboratory-scale NEXAFS spectrometer has been established, allowing for reliable analysis of different absorption edges at photon energies between 250 and 1250 eV.

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Section: Soft X-ray Microscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Soft X-ray Microscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Laboratory-Scale Soft X-ray Source for Microscopy and Absorption Spectroscopy

Müller

Mann

2020

Topics in Applied Physics

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“…Much work has already been done developing different photon-based imaging techniques and schemes, according to the Rayleigh criterion, which states that the light of shorter wavelength improves the diffraction-limited spatial resolution. Some examples of this demonstrate the use of synchrotronbased sources [4] reaching spatial resolution of ~10 nm [5] or using 13.5 nm wavelength for lithography-related such system to a few images per day [17,18]. Much more rapid exposures of 60 s were required to image objects with 40-nm spatial resolution, employing a high average power laser system for plasma generation, occupying, however, several optical tables [19], which in turn limit future possibility of commercialization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A desktop extreme ultraviolet microscope based on a compact laser-plasma light source

et al. 2016

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research, such as mask inspection [6,7]-reaching 22-nm half pitch resolution or lithography [8], as well as free electron lasers [9] for coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) schemes [10]. These facilities, although state of the art and dedicated to cutting-edge science experiments, are not "user friendly," with limited user access and require high maintenance costs, because of their scale and complexity. Another approach is to use tabletop high-order harmonic (HHG) sources [11] for sub-100-nm spatial resolution imaging [12]; however, typical 10 −6 -10 −5 HHG conversion efficiency is very low and often does not allow for a proper reconstruction [13], the system is very complicated, and typical CDI requires time-consuming numerical data processing. Ptychographic schemes, although providing very high spatial resolution, are serial in nature, extensively time-consuming and computationally demanding.To partially overcome these limitations, other compact EUV sources, such as discharge [14], Z-pinch [15] or laserproduced plasma sources [16], coupled to zone plates or Schwarzschild mirrors, were used. The first one is compact and shows very good spatial resolution, but requires often (~30 k pulses) capillary replacements, the second one demonstrates quite low performance in terms of spatial resolution and field of view exploiting inadequate mode of imaging for lithographic mask inspection, while the last one requires debris mitigation schemes.The use of compact, short-wavelength sources often does not allow for high signal-to-noise ratio image acquisition. An example of that are recent developments in soft X-ray (SXR) microscopy in so-called water window, such as a compact soft X-ray microscope based on a single nitrogen gas jet, capable of resolving features ~100 nm later improved to ~50 nm in size providing high spatial resolution; however, the exposure time for Siemens star test pattern was equal to 1-2 h, limiting the usability of Abstract A compact, desktop size microscope, based on laser-plasma source and equipped with reflective condenser and diffractive Fresnel zone plate objective, operating in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) region at the wavelength of 13.8 nm, was developed. The microscope is capable of capturing magnified images of objects with 95-nm full-pitch spatial resolution (48 nm 25-75% KE) and exposure time as low as a few seconds, combining reasonable acquisition conditions with stand-alone desktop footprint. Such EUV microscope can be regarded as a complementary imaging tool to already existing, well-established ones. Details about the microscope, characterization, resolution estimation and real sample images are presented and discussed.

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Picosecond laser krypton plasma emission in water window spectral range

et al. 2017

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Laser plasma created in a krypton gas puff target is studied as a source of radiation in the water window spectral range (λ = 2.3–4.4 nm). The spatial development of the plasma induced by a sub-nanosecond Nd:YAG laser pulse focused on the gas puff target is modeled using 2d RMHD code Z*. It is shown that the created plasma is quickly heated and the critical electron density is achieved at the very beginning of the laser pulse. Space-time distributions of plasma quantities, namely, electron temperature, electron density, mass density, and plasma expansion velocity were evaluated. Furthermore, the temporal dependences of plasma electron temperature and electron density in a selected point were introduced into the kinetic code FLYCHK. Instantaneous spectra during the laser pulse and during plasma decay period are calculated showing the intense spectral lines in the water window range at the laser peak and delayed up to 0.8 ns. Temporal evolutions of the krypton ions relative populations prove that ions from Kr21+ and Kr22+ are responsible for the dominant spectral intensity emitted at a wavelength around λ = 3 nm. Evaluated time resolved spectra are compared with the time integrated spectra obtained experimentally. The spatial distribution of the measured plasma luminosity is compared with the estimated area of plasma emission based on the evaluated distributions of plasma electron density and temperature.

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Table-top soft X-ray microscopy with a laser-induced plasma source based on a pulsed gas-jet

Cited by 7 publications

References 28 publications

Laboratory-Scale Soft X-ray Source for Microscopy and Absorption Spectroscopy

Laboratory-Scale Soft X-ray Source for Microscopy and Absorption Spectroscopy

A desktop extreme ultraviolet microscope based on a compact laser-plasma light source

Picosecond laser krypton plasma emission in water window spectral range

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