Optics Damage and Materials Processing by EUV/X-ray Radiation (XDam9)

The conference will be devoted to the study of damages to optical elements and fusion reactor components and patterning of material surfaces irradiated by high average and/or high peak fluxes of radiation in the extreme ultraviolet and x-ray spectral regions. The following main subjects will be covered by the conference:

• EUV/x-ray radiation induced degradation of optics and sensors
• utilization of EUV/x-ray sources for testing radiation resistance of first walls, debris shields and final optics in prospective IFE reactors
• strategies for the design of optical elements to avoid or reduce their EUV/x-ray radiation damage
• calculations of damage limits for optical components used with intense short-wavelength radiation sources
• irreversible changes occurring in solids exposed to synchrotron radiation, high-order harmonics, discharge- and laser-plasma based sources of incoherent EUV/x-ray radiation, and EUV/x-ray laser beams, including free-electron lasers (FELs)
• chain scissions and crosslinking in EUV/x-ray-exposed polymers, esp. EUV/x-ray resists
• relationships between EUV/x-ray desorption, ablation and phase transitions
• transient phenomena pumped and/or probed by short or ultra-short EUV/x-ray pulses
• influence of radiation damage to samples on their imaging and structural analysis
• EUV/x-ray laser induced periodic surface structures (EUV/x-ray LIPSS)
• direct micro- and nano-patterning by intense EUV/x-ray radiation modulated by masks or in interferometers
• optimization of irradiation conditions to produce tailored micro(nano)structures
• comparing responses of thin film coatings, multilayer structures, gratings and bulk materials to intense short-wavelength radiation
• interaction of intense EUV/x-ray radiation with gases and liquids: photoionization plasmas, additive nanolithography and related issues
• formation of carbonaceous deposit (carbon black) from residual gases on irradiated surfaces
• radiation damage to interfaces
• formation of carbonaceous deposit (carbon black) from residual gases on irradiated surfaces
• advanced diagnostics for investigation of formation and development changes initiated in and on various materials and structures by intense EUV/x-ray radiation
• thermally induced transient deformations of optical surfaces and related wave-front changes (thermal lensing)
• challenges for radiation damage and material processing studies associated with the current development of compact, high-repetition EUV/x-ray free-electron lasers, often called cw FELs
• utilization of damage patterns on irradiated surfaces to characterize the EUV/x-ray radiation field
• analytical techniques and procedures for detailed characterization of changes in irradiated condensed phase
• computer simulation of processes induced in solids by EUV/x-ray pulses at microscopic and macroscopic levels.

Special attention will be paid to the practical importance of these subjects to direct EUV/x-ray micro(nano)structuring, EUV/x-ray nanolithography, testing the materials related to inertial fusion reactors, manipulation/characterization of radiation emitted from new EUV/x-ray lasers and other ultra-intense source.