Description

Accurate evaluation of polarization states of the radiation is necessary for polarization-sensitive studies, which requires polarization optical elements, such as polarizer, analyzer, and phase retarder. In extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray region, the closeness of the real part of the refractive index to unity, coupled with high absorption, makes the realization of polarizers such as birefringence and dichroic polarizers impossible. Periodical multilayers are commonly used in polarization study working at the quasi-Brewster angle. To expand narrow spectral bandwidths of periodic multilayers, aperiodic and lateral gradual multilayer polarizers including reflective analyzers and transmission phase retarders are utilized. In this chapter, we demonstrate a series of periodic, aperiodic, and lateral gradual broadband multilayer polarizers with the material combinations of Mo/Si, Mo/Y, Mo/B4C, Cr/C, Cr/Sc, Cr/Ti, Cr/V, WSi2/Si, W/B4C, etc. Different multilayer polarizers correspond to different energy ranges, covering 50–1000 eV totally, including “water window” and the L absorption edges of Fe, Co, and Ni. Polarization measurements are performed at BESSY II, Diamond Light Source, National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory in Hefei and Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Some of the polarizers we have developed are applied to the polarization measurements of BESSY II UE56/1-PGM and Beamline 3W1B of Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility.

Chapter