[en] Numerous samples have been fabricated and analyzed as part of a program to produce soft x-ray dispersion elements for various laboratory applications. The majority of this work has centered around the carbon/tungsten system, although several other low-Z/high-Z pairs have been investigated. This report describes the development of certain vacuum-deposition techniques for fabricating these dispersion elements, based upon results obtained from x-ray reflectivity measurements and Auger depth-profile analysis. The composition of the films is chiefly alternating layers of tungsten carbide and carbon. Excess carbon is introduced during the deposition of the tungsten to ensure that the carbide layer is fully stoichiometric. Layer thickness ranged from approx. 5 to 30 A for the carbide and from approx. 15 to 80 A for the carbon. The reflectivity measurements were made using Fe and Al K_α at grazing incidence. The emphasis in these studies is on the application of surface-analysis results in suggesting modifications to the fabrication process and in evaluating the results such modifications have on the layer stoichiometry, continuity, and periodicity of the dispersion elements so produced