Schwarzschild microscopes in vacuum ultraviolet and soft X-ray regions

Microscopes in vacuum ultraviolet and soft X-ray regions using a normal incidence type of Schwarzschild objective are reviewed. The objective consists of a concave mirror and a convex mirror coated with a high reflectance multilayer, having a large numerical aperture comparing with other objectives. The microscopes have been used to diagnose inertia-confinement-fusion plasmas, and to investigate small samples or microstructures of inorganic and organic materials by imaging them using laboratory light sources. Synchrotron radiation has been also used to obtain a microbeam for a photoelectron scanning microscope with a spatial resolution of 0.1 μrn. The structure and performance of two laboratory microscopes developed at Tohoku University are demonstrated. One of them is a soft X-ray emission imaging microscope. An image of an artificial pattern made of W and SiO₂ on Si wafer by focusing Si L emission was presented. The other is an ultraviolet photoelectron scanning microscope using a He (helium) gas discharge lamp. The valence band spectra of a microcrystal of FeWO₄ were presented. Furthermore other applications such as demagnifying optics for lithography and optics to gather fluorescence for emission spectroscopy are introduced.