Enhanced performance of EUV multilayer coatings

Reported is a summary of the development of EUV Mo/Si multilayer coating technology. Though the results are developed for application in Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography, they are of a broader relevance including optics for astronomy. The coating process used consists of electron beam evaporation in combination with low energy ion beam smoothening. The radiation hardness of these coatings is discussed and methods to reduce the multilayer induced substrate stress. The reflectance of the coatings, which are covered with a special protective capping layer, is typically around 65%, while the non correctable figure error added by the full multilayer stack is controlled to better than 15 picometer.