We have investigated, in a complex plane, the behavior of the Berning's formula for the complex amplitude reflectance of a multilayer to find a theoretical basis for the selection of a proper material pair needed to produce a high-reflectance soft X-ray multilayer. An optical criterion has been derived for the selection of such a pair. The criterion is that in a complex plane the Fresnel reflection coefficients of two materials with respect to vacuum should lie close to the real axis and should be far apart from each other. Some examples are given to illustrate the usefulness of this criterion in the design of multilayers.

Date Published: 27 November 1989
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 1140, X-Ray Instrumentation in Medicine and Biology, Plasma Physics, Astrophysics, and Synchrotron Radiation, (27 November 1989); doi: 10.1117/12.961862

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1140:
X-Ray Instrumentation in Medicine and Biology, Plasma Physics, Astrophysics, and Synchrotron Radiation