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Material-Sensitive and Thickness-Resolved Transmission Imaging Using Coherent Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation
Fengling Zhang1, Xiaomeng Liu1, Antonios Pelekanidis1
1Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography, Science Park 106, 1098 XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
ACS Photonics
|December 22, 2025
Summary
High-harmonic generation (HHG) enables advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) microscopy for nanostructure analysis. Lensless imaging techniques accurately map material composition and layer thickness in complex samples.
Area of Science:
- Physics
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) microscopy offers high resolution and material contrast due to short wavelengths and element-specific absorption edges.
- Table-top high-harmonic generation (HHG) sources provide broad EUV and soft X-ray spectra ideal for nanostructure characterization.
- Lensless coherent diffraction imaging methods overcome challenges of EUV lens-based imaging, enabling quantitative phase measurements.
Purpose of the Study:
- To perform spectrally resolved lensless imaging of a dispersive sample using multiple HHG-based measurement concepts.
- To characterize the structure and composition of a three-element spiral-shaped object.
- To compare the accuracy of different lensless imaging techniques for material analysis.
Main Methods:
- Multiwavelength diffractive shearing interferometry.
- Single-wavelength structured-illumination ptychography.
- Utilizing multiple high harmonics from HHG sources for spectrally resolved imaging.
Main Results:
- Both diffractive shearing interferometry and ptychography successfully retrieved spatially resolved element maps and layer thicknesses.
- Ptychography demonstrated superior accuracy in determining layer thickness, particularly for multi-material stacks.
- The study successfully characterized a complex three-element spiral nanostructure.
Conclusions:
- Lensless imaging techniques combined with HHG sources provide a nondestructive method for detailed nanostructure analysis.
- Accurate determination of material composition and layer thicknesses is achievable for complex nanostructured samples.
- Ptychography offers enhanced accuracy for layer thickness measurements in multi-material systems.
Keywords:
computational imagingdiffractive shearing interferometryextreme ultraviolet coherent diffractive imaginghigh-harmonic generationptychographyMore Related Videos
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