NI SI BASED MULTILAYER FOR THE REFLECTION OF SOFT X-RAYS IN THE WATERWINDOW/

As nickel and silicon have no absorption edges in the ''water window'' (2.4-4.4 nm), these materials form suitable components for multilayer s to be applied as optical components in this wavelength region. The p ractical feasibility of using these components is limited by their che mical reactivity, resulting in intermixing at the interfaces. A proced ure, based on the application of ion implantation and ion beam mixing, has been developed to produce silicon nitride and nickel silicide lay ers. As these processes also cause ion etching, an additional reductio n of the surface roughness of the layers has been observed. (C) 1997 A merican Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(97)07421-5].