There is disclosed a soft x-ray source comprising (a) a substrate formed of a thermally conductive material, such as copper or a copper alloy, which tends to generate predominantly hard x-rays upon the collision of an electron beam, (b) an intermediate layer formed on the substrate, the intermediate layer being at least one of rhodium, silver, palladium, and molybdenum, and (c) a silicon film formed on the intermediate layer. There is also disclosed an x-ray lithographic apparatus comprising (a) an electron beam source, (b) the soft x-ray source described above, and (c) means for irradiating an object with the emitted soft x-rays. The method for manufacturing the soft x-ray source comprises (a) preparing a substrate, (b) setting the substrate in a vacuum chamber, (c) introducing a gas or vapor-containing silicon in a vacuum chamber, and (d) forming a silicon film on the intermediate layer by generating a plasma within the vacuum chamber.