Evaluation of the gas puff <i>z</i> pinch as an x-ray lithography and microscopy source

Abstract

Soft x rays (100–10 000 eV), due to their short wavelength (0.1–10 nm) can play an important role in high resolution microscopy and lithography. The gas puff Z pinch is an intense source of soft x rays. Calorimeter and x ray diode measurements showed that 10% of the stored electrical energy was converted to radiation in the range of 1–10 nm. Commercial photoresist polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and some new resists—CR 39, nitrocellulose, were exposed to the pinch radiation. The developed images on the resists have been studied with a scanning electron microscope. The resolution was found to be source limited, but a simple modification can improve the resolution by more than an order of magnitude.