Nitridation and contrast of B4C/La interfaces and X-ray multilayer optics

Chemical diffusion and interlayer formation in thin layers and at interfaces is of increasing influence in nanoscopic devices such as nano-electronics, magneto-optical storage and multilayer X-ray optics. We show that with the nitridation of reactive B4C/La interfaces, both the chemical and optical contrast can be greatly enhanced. Although interaction and diffusion of N2 from the substrate towards the adlayer does occur, this surfactant mediated growth contributes to chemical and optical interface properties that enable major reflectivity improvements of multilayer optics for 6.7 < λ < 7.0 nm.