Nanomachining and Nano-Synthesis of Transparent Materials using Laser Plasma Soft X-Rays

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Light in the range of vacuum ultraviolet, extreme ultraviolet and soft X-rays have short wavelengths and hence can be used to irradiate materials with resolutions in nanometer scale. Even materials which are transparent in visible or ultraviolet region can absorb light at such short wavelengths, which results in excitation of electronic states by one-photon process. So far, only etching and modification of materials have been achieved by irradiation with short-wavelength light. However, ablation, in which several layers of surfaces are removed by irradiation at high power density, have not been achieved. In the present work, we selected laser plasma soft X-rays which are generated using lasers. The soft X-rays are emitted from a plasma which is generated by irradiation of a target with focused laser light. Compared to other X-ray sources, the soft X-ray sources, the soft X-ray can be bright enough. Furthermore, it provides a practical X-ray source because it does not require any huge equipment. In addition, we have investigated and developed X-ray optics that can focus soft X-rays around 10 nm efficiently. Thus, we have developed a apparatus to irradiate materials with soft X-rays at high power densities. Using the X-ray irradiation system, we demonstrated that inorganic transparent can be irradiation with intense light at a short wavelength, for the first time in the world. Furthermore, it should be noted that trenches with of 50 nm can be fabricated by ablation. Thus, we demonstrated capability of laser plasma soft X-rays for nanomachining. In addition, a wide variety of transparent materials can be ablated by irradiation with laser plasma soft X-rays. The obtained results can be applied can be applied to fabricate micro-chemical reactors and micro-chemical analyzers. Furthermore, the higher X-rays source can be applied to material synthesis by core electron excitation and high density excitation.