Nanoscale Roughness in Ultra-Thick Resists by Laser-Scanning Grayscale Direct-Write Lithography and Surface Smoothing

Surface roughness at the nanometer scale limits the optical performance of reflective components for X-ray and extreme ultraviolet beam shaping. While sub-nanometer roughness can be achieved by polishing planar substrates, it remains challenging for continuous three-dimensional topographies fabricated by grayscale direct-write lithography in polymer resists. In this work, mm-long linear grayscale slopes are introduced as a calibration platform to distinguish between form, waviness, and roughness contributions. Process optimization reduces artifacts such as gray-value discretization and stitching, while replication into PMMA combined with the TASTE process enables a reduction of intrinsic roughness below 2 nm. Laser scanning confocal and atomic force microscopy are used as complementary techniques to assess surface quality across spatial scales. The results provide insight into the origin of roughness in novolak-based resists and its evolution through the fabrication chain, highlighting material limitations and paths toward smooth polymer optics with sub-nanometer roughness.