Material-Sensitive and Thickness-Resolved Transmission Imaging Using Coherent Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation

Microscopy with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation enables high-resolution imaging with excellent material contrast because of the short wavelength and numerous element-specific absorption edges available in this spectral range. Table-top high-harmonic generation (HHG) sources offer the additional advantage of generating wide spectra in the EUV and soft X-ray range, making them inherently well-suited for characterizing nanostructures. As lens-based EUV imaging is challenging, lensless imaging methods based on coherent diffraction offer practical advantages and can even allow for quantitative phase measurements of object transmission functions. Here, spectrally resolved lensless imaging of a dispersive sample is performed using multiple high harmonics based on different HHG-based measurement concepts. We characterize the structure and composition of a three-element spiral-shaped object in transmission using multiwavelength diffractive shearing interferometry, as well as single-wavelength structured-illumination ptychography. We find that both methods are capable of retrieving spatially resolved element maps and the corresponding layer thicknesses. Comparing methods, ptychography provides superior accuracy in determining layer thickness, even for stacks of multiple materials, using an extended scattering quotient. These measurement and analysis concepts thus provide a nondestructive way to accurately extract information on the material composition and layer thicknesses of complex nanostructured samples.