Measurement of zone plate efficiencies in the extreme ultraviolet and applications to radiation monitors for absolute spectral emission

Abstract

The diffraction efficiencies of a Fresnel zone plate (ZP), fabricated by Xradia Inc. using the electron-beam writing technique, were measured using polarized, monochromatic synchrotron radiation in the extreme ultraviolet wavelength range 3.4-22 nm. The ZP had 2 mm diameter, 3330 zones, 150 nm outer zone width, and a 1 mm central occulter. The ZP was supported by a 100 nm thick Si 3 N 4 membrane. The diffraction patterns were recorded by CMOS imagers with phosphor coatings and with 5.2 μm or 48 μm pixels. The focused +n orders (n=1-4), the diverging -1 order, and the undiffracted 0 order were observed as functions of wavelength and off-axis tilt angle. Sub-pixel focusing of the +n orders was achieved. The measured efficiency in the +1 order was in the 5% to 30% range with the phase-shift enhanced efficiency occurring at 8.3 nm where the gold bars are partially transmitting. The +2 and higher order efficiencies were much lower than the +1 order efficiency. The efficiencies were constant when the zone plate was tilted by angles up to ±1° from the incident radiation beam. This work indicates the feasibility and benefits of using zone plates to measure the absolute EUV spectral emissions from solar and laboratory sources: relatively high EUV efficiency in the focused +1 order, good out-of-band rejection resulting from the low higher-order efficiencies and the ZP focusing properties, insensitivity to (unfocused) visible light scattered by the ZP, flat response with off-axis angle, and insensitivity to the polarization of the radiation based on the ZP circular symmetry. EUV sensors with Fresnel zone plates potentially have many advantages over existing sensors intended to accurately measure absolute EUV emission levels, such as those implemented on the GOES N-P satellites that use transmission gratings which have off-axis sensitivity variations and poor out-of-band EUV and visible light rejection, and other solar and laboratory sensors using reflection gratings which are subject to response variations caused by surface contamination and oxidation.