Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Kenji Ando

Hidehiro Kanazawa

Yasuyuki Suzuki

Ryuji Biro

Minoru Otani

Takeshi Nakamura

Masao Sugata

Ikuo Matsumoto

Hiroyuki Sugata

Osamu Kamiya

Koji Teranishi

Kuniji Osabe

Yuji Chiba

Noriko Kurihara

Toshiaki Kimura

Kyoko Imai

Masahiro Haruta

Tohru Den

Masaaki Matsushima

Suehiro Kato

Makoto Kameyama

Keiji Hirabayashi

Susumu Ito

Hiroshi Nishiyama

Yasushi Taniguchi

Takashi Hamamoto

Toshiaki Shingu

Keiko Ikoma

Tatsuo Masaki, Deceased

Takayuki Miura

Tatsuo Masaki

Toshinori Miura

Shumpei Tatsumi

Seiken Matsumoto

Shinji Fukui

Kazue Takata

Kyoko Nagata

A multilayer film reflector for X-rays has alternately stacked layers formed on a substrate and comprising a layer (high refractive index layer) comprising a material having a large difference between a refractive index to soft X-ray and a refractive index in vacuum, and a layer (low refractive index layer) comprising a material having a small difference between a refractive index to soft X-ray and a refractive index in vacuum, wherein at least one intermediate layer having a crystalline structure is provided between the low refractive index layer and the high refractive index layer. Thereby, the crystallization of the low refractive index layer is promoted, the refractive index of the low refractive index layer is lowered, so that the reflectance of the multilayer film reflector is improved.

Multilayer film reflector for soft X-rays and manufacturing method thereof

To provide an optical thin film structure capable of efficiently dissipating heat in an optical thin film which is generated upon irradiating a surface of an X-ray mirror made up of the optical thin film with an X-ray. The optical thin film having an isotope purity higher than a natural isotope abundance ratio is formed on a mirror to increase heat conductivity of the optical thin film itself and quickly dissipate heat accumulated in the thin film to the outside of an optical system. Consequently, the mirror having high reflectively can be obtained, in which a fine structure of the optical thin film is by no means broken.

Optical thin film and mirror using the same

A sputtering apparatus for forming a film by a physical gas-phase growth on a substrate having a irregular or flat shape is provided including three or more axes for independently varying a relative positional relationship between a substrate and a cathode in the course of film formation.

Sputtering apparatus

An X-ray multi-layer mirror having a reflection characteristic with a wider incident angle range is realized by conducting optimization processing on an Mo/Si alternate layer having a constant thickness. Film thickness distributions of Si layers and Mo layers in the Mo/Si alternate layer are determined by optimization processing for widening the angle reflection characteristic of the Mo/Si alternate layer having the constant thickness, which is a fundamental structure.

X-ray multi-layer mirror and x-ray exposure apparatus

An antireflection film includes alternately deposited high-refractive-index layers and low-refractive-index layers. The refractive indexes and extinction coefficients of the layers are such that the antireflection film exhibits sufficient antireflection characteristics even if the geometrical thickness thereof is small. An optical element having the antireflection film on a substrate exhibits high transmittance and has excellent optical characteristics.

Optical element with antireflection film

The present invention provides a method for forming a film of aluminum oxide in which a target containing aluminum is sputtered in a gas containing fluorine atoms. The thin film of aluminum oxide according to the present invention has little optical absorption and high refractive index in the ultraviolet and vacuum ultraviolet regions.

Method for forming thin films

Antireflection film and optical element having the same

In order to provide an antireflection film of a wide wavelength bandwidth excellent in environment resistance performance in the ultraviolet wavelength region, the antireflection film is constructed in four-layered, or five-layered, or six-layered structure, using Al O for high-index layers and AlF or MgF for low-index layers. Vacuum evaporation, sputtering, or CVD is used for formation of the antireflection film.

Antireflection film, optical element with antireflection film, and production method of the antireflection film

A process of producing a thin film is disclosed. The process comprises the steps of providing a vessel; placing a target such that a surface to be sputtered of the target surrounds a discharge space; placing a substrate on a side of an opening of the space such that the substrate faces an anode disposed so as to close another opening of the space surrounded by the target; supplying a sputtering gas and a fluorine-containing gas into the vessel; and supplying a dc power or a power obtained by superimposing pulses with reversing polarities on the dc power, between the target and the anode, wherein a discharge is induced in the discharge space to sputter the target, thereby forming a fluorine-containing thin film on the substrate.

Thin film production process and optical device

The antireflection film of the present invention comprises an alternately multi-layered film of 10 layers formed on a base member and having antireflection characteristics in two wavelength regions including a first wavelength (&lgr; ) of 248 nm and a second wavelength (&lgr; ) of 633 nm as central wavelengths, respectively, the multi-layered film of 10 layers comprising: low-refractive index layers arranged at odd-numbered positions from a side opposite to the base member and having a refractive index of 1.45 to 1.52 at the first wavelength (&lgr; ); and high-refractive index layers arranged at even-numbered positions from the side opposite to the base member and having a refractive index of 1.65 to 1.80 at the first wavelength (&lgr; ), wherein layers arranged at the first, second and third positions from the side opposite to the base member each have an optical thickness ranging from 0.21&lgr; to 0.28&lgr; .

Antireflection film and optical element coated with the antireflection film

A film formation method of forming at least one layered film on a substrate containing fluorite as a main ingredient by using a film formation apparatus which emits electrons or ions, which comprises the step of forming, as a first layered film counted from the side of the substrate, a film having a thickness of 30 nm or less and comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of SiO,, BeO, MgO, and MgF,.

Optical element with substrate containing fluorite as main ingredient, and method and apparatus for producing the optical element

A process is provided for forming a thin film having refractive index thereof varying continuously or stepwise in a thickness direction. The process comprises sputtering in a vacuum chamber by introducing, during film formation, at least two kinds of gases selected from a nitrogen-containing gas, an oxygen-containing gas, and a fluorine-containing gas with the flow rate ratio of the gases varied continuously or stepwise. This process enables variation of the refractive index in the thickness direction, simply without difficulty.

Process for thin film formation by sputtering

In a method for forming a multi-layer optical thin film on a surface of a base material, a multi-layer optical thin film is formed based on thickness setting values for respective layers, an optical characteristic of the thus formed multi-layer optical thin film is measured, thicknesses for the respective layers for a multi-layer optical thin film to have an aimed optical characteristic are obtained based on the thus measured optical characteristic, the thickness setting values are corrected based on the thus obtained film thicknesses for the respective layers, and a next multi-layer optical thin film is formed based on the thus corrected thickness setting values. In another method for forming a thin film by sputtering, a concentration of H.sub.2 O gas in a vacuum chamber or a discharge impedance is measured, and at least one of sputter power, sputter gas partial pressure, and sputter gas flow rate is controlled in accordance with the measurement result so as to keep the sputtering rate constant.

Method for forming thin film

Growing community of inventors

Kawasaki, Japan

Kenji Ando