| Abstract: | La/B(4)C multilayers have been fabricated by magnetron sputtering for use as x-ray mirrors at energies below 190 eV, particularly for detection of boron K and alpha x rays at 183 eV, their performance has been compared with that of Mo/B(4)C multilayers, which are currently the best-performing multilayers for this energy range. Transmission electron microscopy and synchrotron soft-x-ray reflectometry were used to study the structural quality of the multilayers and their performance as x-ray mirrors. The results show a significant improvement of the peak reflectivity and the spectral purity, indicating that La/B(4)C has a high potential to replace Mo/B(4)C in many x-ray optical applications below 190 eV. |
