Towards stable nanolayers for EUV optics

Nanolayers are two-dimensional architectures that, while providing an attractive platform to explore new physics, also play an essential role in technological innovations, resulting in an interest that spans from fundamental research to industrial applications. The exponential increase in computing power that defines our times is a direct result of the device miniaturization enabled by the progress in fabrication techniques and the development of new materials for the nanolayers. In this thesis, we focus on nanolayers to be used as coatings for Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) optics in present- and next-generation photo-lithography, a key technology in the semiconductor industry. Our goal is to improve the efficiency and durability of EUV mirrors and pellicles, following three approaches to increase their thermodynamic stability. We begin by systematically investigating possible additives to the multilayers in Mo/Si mirrors that can reduce chemical intermixing and lead to an enhancement of the EUV reflectivity and multilayer lifetime. We then explore how the deposition conditions influence the initial structure of sputtered Ru thin films and the effect of that on their tendency to dewet the substrate on which they reside. Finally, we present a novel combined setup consisting of a multi-beam optical stress sensor and a home-built scanning tunnelling microscope, for simultaneous stress monitoring and surface imaging during film deposition. This system enables to directly correlate the key atomistic events of film growth to changes in substrate bending, thus providing the opportunity to shine more light on the origin of stress

Sensitivity of Antarctic marine invertebrates and microalgae to metal exposure

Negative impacts from contaminants have occurred in Antarctic marine ecosystems resulting from human activities. To improve risk assessment procedures and develop site-specific environmental quality guidelines and remediation targets, this study successfully developed novel toxicity testing methods to determine the sensitivity of Antarctic marine invertebrate and microalgal species to metals

Influence analysis of test speed on technical filament yarns behaviour in tensile test

V prispevku sta predstavljena dva različna načina nateznega preizkušanja linijskih tekstilij: natezno preizkušanje pri standardnih pogojih preizkušanja s standardnim dinamometrom in natezno preizkušanje pri ve- likih hitrostih. Raziskovali smo obnašanje treh tipov tehničnih filamentnih prej: dveh poliamidnih (PA 6.6 in PA 4.6) in polietilenteraftalatnega (PET) multifilamenta visokih trdnosti. Na podlagi rezultatov raziskave sklepamo, da deformacijska hitrost ($dot{epsilon}$) pri vseh treh preizkuševalnih prejah vpliva na natezne lastnosti materiala. To pomeni, da se mehanskih lastnosti in nateznega obnašanja prej pri velikih hitrostih obremenitve ne da pojasnjevati zgolj s podatki, dobljenimi pri standardnih pogojih preizkušanja, temveč je treba uvesti ustrezno metodo z višjimi hitrostmi preizkušanja.Two different ways of tensile testing of liner textiles, namely the tensile testing under standard conditions with a standard dynamometer and high-speed tensile testing are presented in the article. Within this research, we studied the behaviour of three types of high-tenacity multifilament technical filament yarns, i.e. two polyamide yarns (PA 6.6 and PA 4.6) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Based on the results of the research, we can conclude that the strain rate ($dot{epsilon}$) in all three tested yarns affected the material tensile properties. This means that the mechanical properties and tensile behaviour of technical yarns cannot be explained only with the data obtained under standard test conditions. For better understanding of the behaviour of technical yarns, it is necessary to introduce an appropriate method with high-speed testin

Application of Spectrophotometric Methods in Assessing the Influence of Alkaline Treatment on the Degree of Crosslinking of Cotton Cellulose with BTCA

Polycarboxylic acids appear to be the most promising nonformaldehyde crosslinking agents to replace the traditional, mostly formaldehyde-based, compounds. The most effective among these acids is 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA). In this study, a comparison was made of the crosslinking effect on mercerized and on unmercerized as well as with different BTCA mass fractions crosslinked cotton fibres using FT-IR spectroscopy, the methylene blue method and water retention determination. The main purpose of the research was to evaluate how the structural changes of mercerized cotton (transformation of cellulose I into cellulose II) influence the crosslinking of cellulose fibres

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections for Higgs boson production in the diphoton decay channel at s√=8 TeV with ATLAS

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections are presented for Higgs boson production in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=8 TeV. The analysis is performed in the H → γγ decay channel using 20.3 fb−1 of data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The signal is extracted using a fit to the diphoton invariant mass spectrum assuming that the width of the resonance is much smaller than the experimental resolution. The signal yields are corrected for the effects of detector inefficiency and resolution. The pp → H → γγ fiducial cross section is measured to be 43.2 ±9.4(stat.) − 2.9 + 3.2 (syst.) ±1.2(lumi)fb for a Higgs boson of mass 125.4GeV decaying to two isolated photons that have transverse momentum greater than 35% and 25% of the diphoton invariant mass and each with absolute pseudorapidity less than 2.37. Four additional fiducial cross sections and two cross-section limits are presented in phase space regions that test the theoretical modelling of different Higgs boson production mechanisms, or are sensitive to physics beyond the Standard Model. Differential cross sections are also presented, as a function of variables related to the diphoton kinematics and the jet activity produced in the Higgs boson events. The observed spectra are statistically limited but broadly in line with the theoretical expectations