Study of NbC thin films for soft X-ray multilayer applications

Compound materials are being used in soft x-ray and Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) optics applications. Structural properties of compound materials changes drastically when ultrathin films are formed from bulk material. Structural properties need to be investigated to determine the suitability of compound materials in soft x-ray multilayer applications. In the present study Niobium carbide (NbC) thin films were deposited using ion beam sputtering of an NbC target on Si (100) substrate. Thickness roughness and film mass density was determined from the X-ray reflectivity (XRR) data. XRR data revealed that the film mass density was increasing with increase in film thickness. For 500Ǻ thick film, mass density of 6.85 g/cm3, close to bulk density was found. Rms roughness for all the films was less than 10A. Local structure of NbC thin films was determined from EXAFS measurements. The EXAFS data showed an increase in Nb-C and Nb-(C)-Nb peak ratio approaches towards bulk NbC with increasing thickness of NbC. From the...