A Straightforward Method of Calculating Finely the Soft X-Ray Spectra of Hydrogenlike Highly Ionized-States

A new method of calculating finely the soft X ray spectra of hydrogenlike highly ionized states is presented. It is based on the relation of the ionicity and the ionization energies of hydrogenlike atoms and the new model of potential function of hydrogenlike atoms. The relativistic revision and the spin orbit couping of excitation energy levels are taken into account. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experiments.

Latest advances in soft X-ray spectromicroscopy at SSRF

The BL08U1 A beamline is established as a sophisticated platform at Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility(SSRF), taking advantage of its high spatial resolution(< 30 nm) and high energy resolving power(>10 000),for studying properties of solid, liquid, gas, film and other forms of materials at sub-micron scale. In this paper,we present a review on newly implemented techniques, such as total electron yield(TEY), dual energy contrast imaging, nano-CT, soft X-ray excited optical luminance(SXEOL), and coherent diffraction imaging(CDI)under development. Several research cases in nanomaterials, environmental science and biology are presented to demonstrate capabilities of the beamline.

Readout electronics for a high-resolution soft X-ray spectrometer based on silicon drift detector

The readout electronics for a prototype soft X-ray spectrometer based on silicon drift detector(SDD),for precisely measuring the energy and arrival time of X-ray photons is presented in this paper.The system mainly consists of two parts,i.e.,an analog electronics section(including a pre-amplifier,a signal shaper and filter,a constant fraction timing circuit,and a peak hold circuit)and a digital electronics section(including an ADC and a TDC).Test results with X-ray sources show that an energy dynamic range of 1-10 keV with an integral nonlinearity of less than 0.1%can be achieved,and the energy resolution is better than 160 eV @ 5.9 keV FWHM.Using a waveform generator,test results also indicate that time resolution of the electronics system is about 3.7 ns,which is much less than the transit time spread of SDD(<100 ns)and satisfies the requirements of future applications.

Developments at SSRF in soft X-ray interference lithography

The soft X-ray interference lithography(XIL) branch beamline at Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility(SSRF) is briefly introduced in this article. It is designed for obtaining 1D(line/space) and 2D(dot/hole)periodic nanostructures by using two or more coherent extreme ultraviolet(EUV) beams from an undulator source. A transmission-diffraction-grating type of interferometer is used at the end station. Initial results reveal high performance of the beamline, with 50 nm half-pitch 1D and 2D patterns from a single exposure area of400 μm× 400 μm. XIL is used in a growing number of areas, such as EUV resist test, surface enhanced Raman scattering(SERS) and color filter plasmonic devices. By using highly coherent EUV beam, broadband coherent diffractive imaging can be performed on the XIL beamline. Well reconstructed pinhole of φ20 μm has been realized.

Development of a soft X-ray microprobe for single cell radiobiology

An X-ray microprobe for radiobiological studies was developed which deliver precise doses of radiation to the selected individual cells.The facility used synchrotron radiation as soft X-ray source.A zone plate combining with a pinhole produced a fine probe from bending magnet for single cell irradiating with defined doses.The diameter of microprobe at the target position was about 2 μm by scanning a knife-edge with an AXUV photo diode.The fluxes of soft X-rays at 516.7 eV(2.4 nm) were about 5.4×104 photons/s.100mA measured with the photo diode.The absorbed dose rate for typical yeast cells was about 11.34 Gy/s with the storage current of 100 mA.A preliminary experiment for yeast cells irradiation has shown that the microprobe had a definite biological effect for radiobiological investigations.The soft X-ray microprobe at "water window" region has provided a useful tool for single cell irradiating damage and a capability of individually irradiating a certain numbers of cells each time.

Multilayer optics for the EUV and soft X-rays

The demand to enhance the optical resolution, to structure and observe ever smaller details, has pushed the way towards the EUV and soft X-rays. Induced mainly by the production of more powerful electronic circuits with the aid of projection lithography, optics developments in recent years can be characterized by the use of electromagnetic radiation with smaller wavelength. The good prospects of the EUV and soft X-rays for next generation lithography systems (λ=13.5 nm), microscopy in the “water window” (λ=2.3～4.4 nm), astronomy (λ=5～31 nm), spectroscopy, plasma diagnostics and EUV/soft X-ray laser research have led to considerable progress in the development of different multilayer optics. Since optical systems in the EUV/soft X-ray spectral region consist of several mirror elements a maximum reflectivity of each multilayer is essential for a high throughput. This paper covers recent results of the enhanced spectral behavior of Mo/Si, Cr/Sc and Sc/Si multilayer optics.

Thermal Diffusion of Si Atoms at the Interface of Mo/Si Bilayers Studied with a Soft X-ray Emission Microscope

Thermal diffusion of Si atoms at the interface in Mo/Si multilayers was observed with an imaging type soft X ray emission microscope developed by us. It was possible to observe the diffusion with 0.2nm depth resolution in the direction normal to the interface by comparing the emission intensity for exactly the same position. The diffusion coefficient of Si atoms in Mo at 600℃ was roughly estimated to be 6.0×10 17 cm 2/s.

Measurement of conversion efficiency of soft X-ray from 0.35μm laser-irradiated aluminum planar targets

Conversion efficiency of soft X-ray from 0.35μm pulse laser-irradiated aluminium planar target at laser intensities 10^13- 10^15 W/cm^2 on the Xingguang-Ⅱ facility （laser energy 5 - 90 J, focal spot - Φ 200μm full width of half maximun （FWHM） 400 - 800 ps） was measured. A simple model was given to explain soft X-ray conversion efficiency. In this model, because of the heat conduction from the laser-heated spot, the conversion was very small at lower irradiance limit, while at higher limit it was bounded by the energy lost in blow off plasma. Consequently, at the laser intensity around 2×10^14 W/cm^2 , the X-ray conversion efficiency reaches a maximum.

Charge compensation and capacity fading in LiCoO2 at high voltage investigated by soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy

In order to obtain an in-depth insight into the mechanism of charge compensation and capacity fading in LiCoO2, the evolution of electronic structure of LiCoO2 at different cutoff voltages and after different cycles are studied by soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy in total electron（TEY） and fluorescence（TFY） detection modes, which provide surface and bulk information, respectively. The spectra of Co L2,3-edge indicate that Co contributes to charge compensation below 4.4 V.Combining with the spectra of O K-edge, it manifests that only O contributes to electron compensation above 4.4 V with the formation of local O 2 p holes both on the surface and in the bulk, where the surficial O evolves more remarkably. The evolution of the O 2 p holes gives an explanation to the origin of O2^-or even O2. A comparison between the TEY and TFY of O K-edge spectra of LiCoO2 cycled in a range from 3 V to 4.6 V indicates both the structural change in the bulk and aggregation of lithium salts on the electrode surface are responsible for the capacity fading. However, the latter is found to play a more important role after many cycles.

Study of sawtooth oscillations on the HT-7 tokamak using 2D tomography of soft x-ray signal

It is the first time so far as we know that two arrays of multi-channel soft x-ray detectors are used to generate twodimensional （2D） images of sawtooth oscillation on the HT-7 tokamak using the Fourier-Bessel harmonic reconstruction method, and using the singular value decomposition to analyse the data from soft x-ray cameras. By these two arrays, 2D image reconstruction of soft x-ray emissivity can be obtained without assumption of plasma rigid rotation. Tomographic reconstruction of the m=1 mode structure is obtained during the precursor oscillation of the sawtooth crash. The crescent-shaped mode structure appearing on the contour map of the soft x-ray emissivity is consistent with the quasiinterchange mode. The characteristics of the m=1/n=1 mode structure observed in the soft x-ray tomography are as follows： the magnetic surface is made up of the crescent-shaped “hot core” and the circular “cold bubble”. The structure of the magnetic surface rotates in the direction of the electron diamagnetic drift and the rotation frequency is the oscillation frequency of soft x-ray signals.

Fabrication of a 256-bits organic memory by soft x-ray lithography

This paper reports a procedure of soft x-ray lithography for the fabrication of an organic crossbar structure. Electron beam lithography is employed to fabricate the mask for soft x-ray lithography, with direct writing technology to the lithograph positive resist and polymethyl methacrylate on the polyimide film. Then Au is electroplated on the polyimide film. Hard contact mode exposure is used in x-ray lithography to transfer the graph from the mask to the wafer. The 256-bits organic memory is achieved with the critical dimension of 250 nm.

A Perspective on Studying Electronic Structure of Batteries through Soft X-ray Spectroscopy

Understanding electronic structure is crucial to enhance the battery performance. Soft X-ray spectroscopy(SXS) is one of the most effective methods to provide direct probe of electronic states. Here, spectroscopic measurements of transition metal 3 d and oxygen 2 p states are simply reviewed. Then, we mainly focus on the perspective of the development direction of modern SXS techniques. Although the true power of recently developed high efficiency mapping of resonant inelastic X-ray scattering(m RIXS) has been apparent for materials and chemistry studies, great challenges remain for mRIXS spectroscopic interpretation, and the understanding of the battery materials on novel redox activities remains elusive.

Studies of multilayer structure in depth direction by soft X-ray spectroscopy

It is demonstrated that two kinds of soft X-ray spectroscopy are useful as nondestructive methods to in- vestigate multilayer structures modified by interdiffusion or by chemical reaction of adjoining layers in depth direc- tion. One is the total electron yield (TEY) spectroscopy involving angular dependence measurement. Using this method, it was found that in LiF/Si/LiF trilayers, the Si layers exhibited a characteristic similar to porous Si, and in CaF2/Si/CaF2 trilayers, it was found that CaF2 segregated through the Si layer. Moreover, it has been shown that the thickness of the top layer of a Mo/Si X-ray multilayer can be determined by analyzing TEY signals generated by the standing wave. The other is the soft X-ray emission spectroscopy involving spectral shape analysis. Using this method, it was found that in Mo/Si X-ray multilayers, the interdiffusion or chemical reaction giving rise to deterioration of re- flectance character occurs in as-deposited samples as well as in heated samples. In antiferromagnetic Fe/Si multilay- ers, it was confirmed that there was no existence of pure Si layers, but insulating FeSi2 layers were present. This result suggests that the source of antiferromagnetic coupling is not conduction electrons but quantum wave interference.

Soft X-ray Tomography on HT-7

The soft X-ray imaging system on HT-7 is introduced. Fourier-Bessel expansion method is used to reconstruct the soft X-ray emission distribution. Simulation results show that the inversion accuracy is associated with the angular expansion limit and the hot core displacement. In addition, tomographic results of sawtooth oscillations in a typical low hybrid current drive （LHCD） plasma are presented. It is shown that the reconstructions are reliable to analyze the perturbative mode and the evolution.

SOFT X-RAY IMAGES OF CHROMOSOMES WITHIN INTACT TUMOR CELLS TREATED WITH COLCHICINE

In order to avoid any possible effect of separating procedures from intact cell on morphologic structure of the chromosomes, cultivated Hep-2 tumor cells were treated with colchicine and observed by soft X-ray contact microscopy for the first time. The fine structures of chromosomes are more clear with stereo features. The thread-like and coarse granular structures twine and tangle up together within chromosome masses which can not easily be revealed in Wright’s stained sample by light microscope or osmium stained sample by transmission electron

Present Status of EUV Interferometer Development at the Research Center for Soft X-ray Microscopy

A new interferometer for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation with a laser produced plasma (LPP) laboratory source is under construction. The LPP source is operated with a Sn solid rod target on which pulsed YAG laser is focused to produce high temperature plasma emitting EUV radiation. The source is equipped with a newly designed debris stopper protecting a condenser multilayer mirror from the particle debris of the target. The condenser mirror focuses the light onto an EUV beam-splitter to form transmitted and reflected paths for producing interference fringes of a sharing type. The optical configuration is of a common path based on a triangular path type with a focusing at the beam-splitter, which is enabled to produce fringes by a low coherence radiation with a standard optical quality beam-splitter. The fringes are recorded by an imaging plate with pixels as small as 25μm. The dynamic range of linearity in detection of the EUV light was found to be more than 10 4 with sensitivity of 10 4 photons/pixel, enough for the purpose of interferogram recording, possibly with one laser shot.

Identification of m = 2 competent mode of complex magneto-hydro-dynamics activities during internal soft disruption based on singular value decomposition and tomography of soft-X-ray emission on the HT-7 tokamak

In this paper,the singular value decomposition（SVD） method as a filter is applied before the tomographic inversion of soft-X-ray emission.Series of ＇filtered＇ signals including specific chronos and topos are obtained.（Here,chronos and topos are the decomposed spatial vectors and the decomposed temporal vectors,respectively）.Given specific magnetic flux function with coupling m = 1 and m = 2 modes,the line-integrated soft-X-ray signals at all chords have been obtained.Then m = 1 and m = 2 modes have been identified by tomography of simulated ＇filtered＇ signals extracted by the SVD method.Finaly,using the experimental line-integrated soft-X-ray signals,m = 2 competent mode of complex magnetohydrodynamics（MHD） activities during internal soft disruption is observed.This result demonstrates that m = 2 mode plays an important role in internal disruption（Here,m is the poloidal mode number）.

Schwarzschild microscopes in vacuum ultraviolet and soft X-ray regions

Microscopes in vacuum ultraviolet and soft X-ray regions using a normal incidence type of Schwarzschild objective are reviewed. The objective consists of a concave mirror and a convex mirror coated with a high reflectance multilayer,having a large numerical aperture comparing with other objectives. The microscopes have been used to diagnose inertia-confinement-fusion plasmas,and to investigate small samples or microstructures of in- organic and organic materials by imaging them using laboratory light sources. Synchrotron radiation has been also used to obtain a microbeam for a photoelectron scanning microscope with a spatial resolution of 0.1 μm. The struc- ture and performance of two laboratory microscopes developed at Tohoku University are demonstrated. One of them is a soft X-ray emission imaging microscope. An image of an artificial pattern made of W and SiO2 on Si wafer by focusing Si L emission was presented. The other is an ultraviolet photoelectron scanning microscope using a He (he- lium) gas discharge lamp. The valence band spectra of a microcrystal of FeWO4 were presented. Furthermore other applications such as demagnifying optics for lithography and optics to gather fluorescence for emission spectroscopy are introduced.

Single order soft X-ray diffraction with quasi-random radius pinhole array spectroscopic photon sieves

A novel single order diffraction grating in the soft X-ray region, called quasi-random radius pinhole array spectro- scopic photon sieves （QRSPS）, is proposed in this paper. This new grating is composed of pinholes on a substrate, whose radii are quasi-random, while their centers are regular. Analysis proves that its transmittance function across the grating bar is similar to that of sinusoidal transmission gratings. Simulation results show that the QRSPS can suppress higher-order diffraction effectively. And the QRSPS would still retain its characteristic of single order diffraction when we take the effect of X-ray penetration into account. These properties indicate that the QRSPS can be used in the soft X-ray spectra measurement.

Soft x-ray spectroscopy for probing electronic and chemical states of battery materials

The formidable challenge of developing high-performance battery system stems from the complication of battery operations, both mechanically and electronically. In the electrodes and at the electrode-electrolyte interfaces, chemical reactions take place with evolving electron states. In addition to the extensive studies of material synthesis, electrochem- ical, structural, and mechanical properties, soft x-ray spectroscopy provides unique opportunities for revealing the critical electron states in batteries. This review discusses some of the recent soft x-ray spectroscopic results on battery binder, transition-metal based positive electrodes, and the solid-electrolyte-interphase. By virtue of soft x-ray＇s sensitivity to electron states, the electronic property, the redox during electrochemical operations, and the chemical species of the interphases could be fingerprinted by soft x-ray spectroscopy. Understanding and innovating battery technologies need a multimodal approach, and soft x-ray spectroscopy is one of the incisive tools to probe the chemical and physical evolutions in batteries.