Characterization of nanoscale multilayer structures upon thermal annealing

Abstract

Obtaining a high quality physical description of the layered structure of multilayer based optical coatings is an essential part of the optimization of their optical performance. Grazing incidence X-ray reflectivity (GIXR) is one of the most informative and easy-to-use non-destructive tools for the analysis of multilayer structures. The typical challenge of GIXR structural characterization is the reconstruction of the layered structure from fitting simulated data to experimental data. Here we present an example of the application of a newly developed, free-form, GIXR analysis to the characterization of heat induced structural changes in periodic La/B multilayers. This example shows that the developed algorithm is capable of reconstructing electron density profiles in cases where a classical non free-form approach generally fails.