Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

X-ray Crystallography

X-ray Crystallography

The size of the unit cell and the arrangement of atoms in a crystal may be determined from measurements of the diffraction of X-rays by the crystal, termed X-ray crystallography.
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Circular Dichroism via Extrinsic Chirality in Achiral Plasmonic Nanohole Arrays.

Materials (Basel, Switzerland)·2026

Same author

Imaging of electrically controlled van der Waals layer stacking in 1T-TaS<sub>2</sub>.

Nature communications·2025

Same author

van der Waals devices for surface-sensitive experiments.

Nanoscale·2025

Same author

Approaching Angstrom-Scale Resolution in Lithography Using Low-Molecular-Mass Resists (<500 Da).

ACS nano·2024

Same author

Extreme ultraviolet lithography reaches 5 nm resolution.

Nanoscale·2024

Same author

Extreme Ultraviolet Photoresponse of Organotin-Based Photoresists with Borate Counteranions.

ACS applied materials & interfaces·2024

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 16, 2025

Fabrication of High Contrast Gratings for the Spectrum Splitting Dispersive Element in a Concentrated Photovoltaic System

Fabrication of High Contrast Gratings for the Spectrum Splitting Dispersive Element in a Concentrated Photovoltaic System

Published on: July 18, 2015

High-efficiency diffraction gratings for EUV and soft x-rays using spin-on-carbon underlayers.

Xiaolong Wang¹, Dimitrios Kazazis¹, Li-Ting Tseng¹

¹Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland.

|October 22, 2021

Summary

We developed high-resolution gratings for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray applications using a novel spin-on-carbon (SOC) underlayer. This technique enables fabrication of nanostructures with improved diffraction efficiency for advanced lithography and spectroscopy.

Keywords:

EUV diffraction gratings diffractive optics interference lithography soft x-rays spin-on-carbon

More Related Videos

Measurement of X-ray Beam Coherence along Multiple Directions Using 2-D Checkerboard Phase Grating

Measurement of X-ray Beam Coherence along Multiple Directions Using 2-D Checkerboard Phase Grating

Published on: October 11, 2016

In situ Grazing Incidence Small Angle X-ray Scattering on Roll-To-Roll Coating of Organic Solar Cells with Laboratory X-ray Instrumentation

In situ Grazing Incidence Small Angle X-ray Scattering on Roll-To-Roll Coating of Organic Solar Cells with Laboratory X-ray Instrumentation

Published on: March 2, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 16, 2025

Fabrication of High Contrast Gratings for the Spectrum Splitting Dispersive Element in a Concentrated Photovoltaic System

Fabrication of High Contrast Gratings for the Spectrum Splitting Dispersive Element in a Concentrated Photovoltaic System

Published on: July 18, 2015

Measurement of X-ray Beam Coherence along Multiple Directions Using 2-D Checkerboard Phase Grating

Measurement of X-ray Beam Coherence along Multiple Directions Using 2-D Checkerboard Phase Grating

Published on: October 11, 2016

In situ Grazing Incidence Small Angle X-ray Scattering on Roll-To-Roll Coating of Organic Solar Cells with Laboratory X-ray Instrumentation

In situ Grazing Incidence Small Angle X-ray Scattering on Roll-To-Roll Coating of Organic Solar Cells with Laboratory X-ray Instrumentation

Published on: March 2, 2021

Area of Science:

Nanofabrication
Optics and Photonics
Materials Science

Background:

Fabricating high-resolution gratings for EUV and soft X-ray applications is challenging due to pattern collapse in thin films.
Existing methods often limit the achievable aspect ratio and diffraction efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and characterize high-resolution gratings with enhanced diffraction efficiency for EUV and soft X-ray applications.
To demonstrate the effectiveness of a spin-on-carbon (SOC) underlayer in overcoming pattern collapse limitations.

Main Methods:

Fabrication of diffraction gratings down to 20 nm half-pitch (HP) using a bilayer of hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) and SOC on Si3N4 membranes.
Rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) for theoretical diffraction efficiency calculation.
Experimental measurement of diffraction efficiency using dose-to-clear curves.
Application of gratings as masks in extreme ultraviolet interference lithography (EUV-IL).

Main Results:

Successfully fabricated gratings down to 20 nm HP with improved high aspect ratio nanostructures.
Bilayer gratings exhibited significantly higher diffraction efficiency compared to HSQ-only gratings, confirmed by RCWA.
Experimental measurements of diffraction efficiency agreed well with theoretical predictions.
Demonstrated printing of 10 nm HP line/space patterns using EUV-IL with the developed grating masks.

Conclusions:

The HSQ/SOC bilayer approach effectively enables the fabrication of high-resolution, high-aspect-ratio nanostructures for EUV and soft X-ray applications.
The enhanced diffraction efficiency of these gratings is beneficial for interference lithography, Fresnel zone plates, and spectroscopy.
This method offers a pathway to improved performance in advanced nanophotonic devices.