IMT RAS is the initiator of the development of two original scientific leads, which
won world recognition: metal nanoelectronics and Bragg-Fresnel X-ray optics. In IMT RAS the pioneering
research works on mesascopic properties of metal systems were performed. The main trend of the research
works is aimed at different mesascopic systems to reveal the properties capable to form the foundation
for the element base of nanoelectronics. Interference, quantum and ballistic phenomena in metal,
superconducting, semiconducting and hybrid mesascopic structural and transport phenomena in great
molecules (carbon nanotubes and deoxyribonucleic acid molecules) are investigated.
The main technological procedures used for the production of nanostructures are
electron-beam lithography with the use of the "Nanomaker" program complex and various ways of
precipitation of metal, dielectric and semiconductor films. The methods of "explosive" lithography
and chemical, plasma and reactive plasma etching are used as the ways for the transfer of a picture
into metal structures. The methods for the production of nanostructures with the use of atomic-force
microscopy are developed. The methods for the measurement of electrical transport properties at the
temperatures up to 0.4K in a magnetic field and other external actions are widely used as the methods
for the investigation of physical properties.
The creation of elements for X-ray optics of high resolution is the second strategy
course of IMT RAS. Various types of focusing X-ray elements, which enable one to realize the focusing
of X-ray radiation in the energy range from 100 eV to 1 GeV were created at IMT RAS:
- Fresnel lenses of normal incidence are intended for focusing of X-ray radiation in the energy range from
100eV to 8 keV to a focal spot up to several tens of nanometers in size with focusing efficiency of X-ray
radiation up to 36%;
- Discrete multilevel Fresnel lenses of grazing incidence enable one to focus X-ray radiation in energy range
from 100 eV to 30 keV to a focal spot up to 0.2 m in size and focusing efficiency up to 90;
- Bragg-Fresnel optics on the basis of profiled multilayer interference X-ray mirrors and perfect crystals
enables one to perform focusing of X-ray radiation with focal spot dimension up to several tens of nanometers in
energy range from several hundreds of eV to 100 keV with focusing efficiency up to 40%;
- Refractive X-ray optics enables one to perform focusing of X-ray radiation in energy range from 10 keV to 1 GeV
with the efficiency up to 30%.
The main application of X-ray elements is connected with the monitoring of the beams of
synchrotron radiation, X-ray microscopy of high space resolution, microfluorescent analysis, microdiffraction,
microtomography, and X-ray lithography. These elements are widely used both on the sources of synchrotron radiation
and laboratory sources of X-ray radiation for the investigations in the fields of solid-state physics,
microelectronics, medicine and biology.
