Ultrahigh X-ray reflectivity from W/Al2O3 multilayers fabricated using atomic layer deposition -: art. no. 013116

W/Al2O3 multilayers were fabricated using W and Al2O3 atomic layer deposition (ALD) to produce x-ray mirrors. The x-ray reflectivity from an optimized W/Al2O3 multilayer was 96.5%+/- 0.5% for the first-order Bragg peak at lambda=1.54 angstrom. The ultrahigh x-ray reflectivity is attributed to the precise bilayer thicknesses and ultrasmooth interfaces obtained from ALD film growth. The self-limiting ALD surface chemistry prevents randomness during film growth and produces conformal deposition with correlated roughness that enhances the x-ray reflectivity. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.