Optimization of transition radiation emitting targets for storage ring synchrotrons used as X-ray lithography sources

One-foil targets emit most transition radiation (TR) power in storage ring synchrotrons. Such one-foil TR emitting targets (OFTRTs) are optimized, with respect to the foil material and the foil thickness, for use as X-ray lithography (XRL) sources. The best possible elemental material and the foil thickness of OFTRTs for XRL are determined for our storage ring synchrotrons MIRROIRCLE-20SX and MIRRORCLE-6X, which operate with electrons accelerated to 20 MeV and 6 MeV, respectively. It is shown that the XRL efficiency of a OFTRT, with an optimum thickness, increases when the elemental foil material has a lower atomic number Z. The best elemental OFTRT, for performing XRL by MIRRORCLE-20SX, should contain one Be foil with a thickness of d≅240 nm, while the second best OFTRT should be made of one C foil with d≅220 nm. The best elemental OFTRT, for performing XRL by MIRRORCLE-6X, should contain one C foil with d≅35 nm, while the second best OFTRT should be made of one Be foil with d≅100 nm, because there are no thinner Be foils. The XRL efficiency of a C-foil OFTRT increases when a higher-density foil is used. A OFTRT containing one foil of a given material with optimum thickness, in MIRRORCLE-20SX, has approximately 100 times larger XRL efficiency in comparison with such a target in MIRRORCLE-6X.