Simulation Of The Growth Of Mo/Si Multilayers

The successful development of soft x-ray projection lithography will depend heavily on the production of efficient, durable optical components. A leading candidate for x-ray mirrors near 130 angstrom is multilayer structures made of alternating thin layers of Mo and Si. High- resolution electron microscopy reveals that the interface created by deposition of Mo on Si is much more diffuse than that produced by depositing Si on Mo. We have performed molecular dynamics simulations of the deposition process and observed significant penetration of the Si substrates by incident Mo atoms while Si atoms remain on the surface of the Mo substrates.