The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research

Shimadzu Corporation

Toyota School Foundation

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Denso Corporation

Rikagaku Kenkyusho

Tokyo Electron Limited

Nikon Corporation

Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Riken Institute of Physical and Chemical Research

Tamio Hara

Yoshinobu Aoyagi

Kozo Ando

Hideo Hirose

Manabu Hamagaki

Susumu Namba

Toshio Sata

Naohiro Yamaguchi

Nobuo Ishii

Naoki Takayama

Kohei Kawamura

Takeshi Yamada

Makoto Ryoji

Teruyoshi Tsunashima

Masakuni Tokai

Katsunobu Aoyagi

Yosuke Kajiyama

An X-ray generating apparatus in which X-rays are emitted from laser plasma, the X-ray generating apparatus including a strong magnetic field generating device for generating a magnetic field component substantially parallel with the target surface in the vicinity of the laser plasma. The magnetic field component is arranged to generate a magnetic force which acts directly on charged particles in the laser plasma to bend the tracks of the charged particles, causing the charged particles to be confined in a magnetic field formed by the magnetic field component. The magnetic flux of the strong magnetic field is directed to a direction which is different from the direction in which the laser plasma is generated. An X-ray supply object is disposed in the laser plasma generating direction. Charged particles, liable to be directed to the X-ray supply object, are mainly confined in the strong magnetic field.

X-ray generating apparatus and X-ray microscope

Lens systems are disclosed having multiple focal lines and that are operable to form multiple narrow superimposable focal lines. The focal lines typically have linewidths of .ltoreq. approximately 10 .mu.m, formed from an incident light flux from a laser. The superimposed focal lines can have sufficient energy density to serve as a pumping-laser source for an X-ray laser. The lens systems comprise, axially from the incident light side, a wave-surface splitter and a focusing system. The wave-surface splitter splits the wave surface of the incident light into subfluxes. The focusing system focuses the subfluxes into respective linear focal lines that can be superimposed to form a combined focal line having very high energy density. The wave-surface splitter is preferably a prism having multiple facets with respective prism angles; the focusing system preferably comprises multiple cylindrical lenses each having a generation line perpendicular to the ridge lines separating the facets of the prism.

Lens system with multiple focal lines

A reflecting mirror of an X-ray reflecting device is produced by a spherical surface machining method, and when the device is used, a desired aspherical reflecting surface can be obtained by elastically deforming the mirror with application of an external force. The device has the mirror 11 and a support member 17. The mirror 11 is made of elastically deformable material. A surface 11a of the mirror 11 is finished by the spherical surface machining method. When the device is used, pressure is applied against a rear surface 11b of the mirror 11 and the mirror 11 is deformed into a desired aspherical shape.

X-ray reflecting device

An X-ray laser generating apparatus comprises a laser oscillator for generating a pulse laser beam, a pulse train converter for converting the pulse laser beam into a pulse train laser beam, an optical device for focusing the pulse train laser beam to a thin line, a target material placed at the laser beam focused position and generating high temperature plasma containing highly charged ions with irradiation of the linearly focused pulse train laser beam, a vacuum chamber for keeping a vicinity of the irradiated region of the target material under a decompressed state, and a pair of X-ray reflecting mirrors positioned on both sides of the target material and on the extended thin line, and at least one of the paired mirrors partially transmits X-ray.

Apparatus for and method of generating X-ray laser

An X-ray microscope utilizing X-rays radiating from a laser-irradiated target so as to form an X-ray image of a specimen placed in a sample cell, the X-ray microscope includes a target for radiating X-rays when the same is irradiated with a laser beam, a sample cell for housing a specimen, the sample cell provided near the surface of target placed opposite to where the target is irradiated with the laser beam, and a detector for forming an X-ray image of the specimen by X-ray penetration, wherein the target, the sample cell and the detector are unified in a unit. The unit is placed at a place where the laser beam is irradiated to the target. A spacer is provided between the target and the sample cell, wherein the size of the spacer is determined depending on a distance between the specimen and the target. With this construction, this facilitates the fabrication of the unit. The unit is placed in the miniature vacuum chamber which comprises a division for housing the unit, and a space provided toward the target. And the vacuum chamber housing the unit is placed in an X-ray microscope.

X-ray microscope

An X-ray generating apparatus generates X-rays from plasma formed by irradiating a laser beam to a target. The apparatus includes an X-ray transmitting film disposed at at least one side of the target with a predetermined gap provided therebetween. The X-ray transmitting film has a thickness such that the film is not broken due to an action in the X-ray generating process. The X-rays are taken out through the X-ray transmitting film. An X-ray microscope can employ such an X-ray generating apparatus, with the X-rays from the apparatus being guided to the sample, with the sample to be observed being disposed in the vicinity of the X-ray transmitting film, and with a detecting device for detecting an X-ray image formed by X-rays transmitted through the sample.

In an electron beam excited ion irradiation apparatus which irradiates ions to a material, an electrical discharge changes an inert gas into a plasma. Electrons are drawn from this plasma and are made into electron beams. The electron beams are passed through an active gas to create ion. When the ion is irradiated to a material, electron components of the electron beams, which are irradiated vertically to a surface of the material are changed their irradiation direction. Control of the range of electron beam irradiation is performed by a magnetic filed formed so as to surround the ion beams.

Electron beam excited ion irradiation apparatus

An electron beam-excited ion beam source having a plasma region, an accelerating cathode, an electron beam accelerating region, an accelerating anode, an ion producing region and a target cathode in this order, and further comprising means for applying a negative electric potential to the target cathode as against the accelerating cathode and an ion extracting electrode for extracting positive ions or negative ions produced in the ion producing region whereby a high current ion beam can be obtained in a low input power.

Electron beam-excited ion beam source

An ion-producing apparatus comprises an electron-producing vessel having an electron-producing chamber, an ion-producing vessel having an ion-producing chamber communicating with the electron-producing chamber, a cathode provided at one end of the electron-producing vessel, an accelerating electrode provided within the ion-producing chamber, for allowing passage of electrons, an anode provided between the cathode and the accelerating electrode, and a power supply circuit for providing a potential difference between the cathode and the anode, thereby to produce electrons in the gap between the cathode and the anode. A vacuum pump is provided for evacuating gas from the ion-producing chamber. A partition is provided within the electron-producing vessel, between the cathode and the anode to divide the electron-producing vessel into a cathode-side chamber and an anode-side chamber, and hinders a gas flow from the cathode-side chamber to the anode-side chamber to apply a pressure difference between both chambers.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Tamio Hara