The speaker will briefly describe the features of the interaction of X-ray radiation with matter and, based on this review, present the basic physical principles underlying the operation of multilayer X-ray mirrors, which cover the wavelength range from λ=60 nm to λ<0.01 nm (from vacuum ultraviolet to hard X-ray region of the spectrum). The influence of various kinds of film defects on the reflectivity of multilayer mirrors will be discussed, and corresponding examples will be given.

The next part of the talk will be devoted to the method of synthesis of multilayer mirrors and the techniques used to obtain the required period distribution over the mirror surface. Then the author will talk about the main methods of diagnostics of the microstructure of films and interfaces used in the physics and technology of multilayer X-ray mirrors. Considerable attention will be paid to the technology of “interface and layer engineering”. The potential of two different methods will be demonstrated using the latest achievements in Cr/Sc for the “water transparency window” and Ru/Be multilayer mirrors for EUV lithography as an example.

The final part of the presentation will be devoted to the applications of multilayer mirrors and multilayer free-standing structures in science, engineering, and technology. A special focus in this part of the talk will be placed on discussing the advantages and prospects for the development of lithography at a wavelength of 11.2 nm and using the authors’ developments for the manufacture of neutron optics elements.