High-efficiency Fresnel zone plates for hard X-rays by 100 keV e-beam lithography and electroplating

The fabrication and characterization of Fresnel zone plates (FZPs) for hard X-ray microscopy applications are reported. High-quality 500 nm- and 1 µm-thick Au FZPs with outermost zone widths down to 50 nm and 70 nm, respectively, and with diameters up to 600 µm were fabricated. The diffraction efficiencies of the fabricated FZPs were measured for a wide range of X-ray energies (2.8–13.2 keV) showing excellent values up to 65–75% of the theoretical values, reflecting the good quality of the FZPs. Spatially resolved diffraction efficiency measurements indicate the uniformity of the FZPs and a defect-free structure.