The high resolution of X-ray lithography comes from the extremely short wavelength, of the order of 1.0 nm. The spectral range of the SRC is optimum for reaching the resolution limit of resists. Large scale integrated circuits exposed with X-ray Lithography have been demonstrated and masks with resolution approaching 100 nm over the field and with adequate placement accuracy are beginning to be available. Steppers or aligners, such as the one shown below, are multimillion dollar instruments that position silicon wafers, such that subsequent exposures are aligned with each other to a precision much better than the resolution of the lithographic image, which can reach a few tens of nanometers.
Active research covers all areas of lithography and metrology.
The picture shows an aligner in action at the CNTech. X-ray steppers are based on a sophisticated mechanical stages that position silicon wafers to tens of nanometers while being held vertical to match the pattern of the synchrotron radiation.