X-ray-ultraviolet beam splitters for the Michelson interferometer

Franck Delmotte (1) , Marie-Françoise Ravet (1) , Françoise Bridou (1) , Françoise Varniere (1) , Philippe Zeitoun (2) , Sébastien Hubert (2) , Laurent Vanbostal (2) , Gérard Soullie (3)

1 Laboratoire Charles Fabry de l'Institut d'Optique / Scop
2 Laboratoire de Spectroscopie Atomique et Ionique
3 DAM/DIF - DAM Île-de-France

With the aim of realizing a Michelson interferometer working at 13.9 nm, we have developed a symmetrical beam splitter with multilayers deposited on the front and back sides of a silicon nitride membrane. On the basis of the experimental optical properties of the membrane, simulations have been performed to define the multilayer structure that provides the highest reflectivity-transmission product. Optimized Mo-Si multilayers have been successfully deposited on both sides of the membrane by use of the ion-beam sputtering technique, with a thickness-period reproducibility of 0.1 nm. Measurements by means of synchrotron radiation at 13.9 nm and at an angle of 45° provide a reflectivity of 14.2% and a transmission of 15.2% for a 60% s-polarized light, close to the simulated values. Such a beam splitter has been used for x-ray laser Michelson interferometry at 13.9 nm. The first interferogram is discussed.

Domains: Optics [physics.optics]

Franck Delmotte, Marie-Françoise Ravet, Françoise Bridou, Françoise Varniere, Philippe Zeitoun, et al.. X-ray-ultraviolet beam splitters for the Michelson interferometer. Applied optics, 2002, 41 (28), pp.5905-5912. ⟨10.1364/AO.41.005905⟩. ⟨hal-00875413⟩