Spectral resolution improvement of Mo/Si multilayers

Theoretically, the spectral resolution of a multilayer can be improved through a combination of utilizing high reflectance orders and by decreasing the thickness of the scattering layer. We fabricate Mo/Si multilayers in the first, second, third, fourth and fifth reflectance orders with Mo layer thicknesses of 3.0 nm and 2.0 nm, respectively, using direct current magnetron sputtering. The structure of the multilayers is characterized with a grazing angle x-ray diffractometer (XRD). Then the reflectivity of the multilayers is measured in a synchrotron radiation facility. The results show that the spectral resolution increases with the increasing reflectance order and with the decreasing Mo layer thickness. The highest spectral resolution is improved to 117.5 in the 5th order for d(Mo) = 2 nm, where the reflectivity is 18%.