Abstract

The vacuum ultraviolet (VUV), extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and xray ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum have many unique properties and applications, such as medical treatment, photolithography, and astronomical observation. However, these applications require unique optical element designs, setups, and materials. carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a fascinating material with thermal, mechanical, and chemical properties that may be beneficial for VUV, EUV, and xray applications. They are conductive, can be patterned into high aspect ratio structures, and are stable in high temperature vacuum. In this work, we report several carbon nanotube devices developed for the VUV, EUV, and xray range. These devices include a CNT collimator with peak VUV transmission over 18% and a pressure differential of 0.001 or less, a vertically aligned CNT array field emitter that can withstand fields up to 1.16 V/µm and emit up to 3 mA of current, a CNT lobster eye optic concept to act as a wide bandpass lens, a CNT zone plate array for xray lithography, a doped vertically aligned CNT array as a laser-induced plasma target for EUV and xray production, and a CNT high harmonic generation device for EUV production.

Degree

PhD

College and Department

Computational, Mathematical, and Physical Sciences; Physics and Astronomy

Rights

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