Hydrogen particle and plasma interactions with heterogeneous structures

Being of a versatile and diverse nature, the field of particle-material interaction physics has traditionally been driven by applications. Two important current drivers are materials research for thermonuclear reactors and photolithography at Extreme UV wavelength. These topics have in common that they both represent extreme conditions: high photon, particle and plasma fluxes lead to non-linear processes and complex interaction phenomena. Both focus on unravelling the material damage mechanisms involving the lightest atom, hydrogen, as the active particle. The use of a nano-scale layered material, mimicking the lithography application, afforded an opportunity to perform depth and material sensitive studies. The challenge to identify the respective processes has been undertaken in the current thesis.