Búsqueda y caracterización de nuevos materiales y su aplicación en recubrimientos ópticos para el ultravioleta lejano y extremo

Laburpena

The spectral range known as far and extreme ultraviolet (FUV/EUV), comprising wavelengths from 10 to 200 nm, has remained almost unexplored due to the high absorption displayed by materials. However, a great motivation from the scientific community has recently arisen to develop instrumentation for the FUV/EUV. The efficiency of this instrumentation depends strongly on the efficiency of optical coatings. A precise knowledge of the optical constants of thin film materials is fundamental to properly design optical coatings. In the FUV/EUV there are many materials that have not been studied yet, while some others were not characterized in appropriate conditions. Therefore, one of the objectives of this work was the search of new materials suitable to be used in optical coatings for the FUV/EUV. The characterized materials were SiC, Sc, Yb, Ce, B and SiO. The obtained results have confirmed that these materials are adequate as constituents of FUV/EUV optical coatings. Another objective of this work was the design, preparation and characterization of optical coatings for the spectral range with wavelengths going from 50 to 200 nm. These coatings include layers of materials that were studied previously by the Grupo de Óptica de Láminas Delgadas, and also some of the materials that were characterized during this thesis. Broad band mirrors (Al and MgF2 bilayers and Al, MgF2 and SiC multilayers) and filters working by transmission (Al and MgF2 multilayers) and by reflection (Al, Yb and SiO multilayers) were prepared. Finally, new data regarding the ageing of the coatings and the possible ways to improve their performance were provided.