As resolving power targets have increased with each generation of beamlines commissioned in synchrotron radiation facilities worldwide, diffraction gratings are quickly becoming crucial optical components for meeting performance targets. However, the metrology of variable-line-spacing (VLS) gratings for high resolution beamlines is not widespread; in particular, no metrology facility at any US DOE facility is currently equipped to fully characterize such gratings. To begin to address this issue, the Optics Group at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne, in collaboration with SOLEIL and with support from Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), has developed an alternative beam path addition to the Long Trace Profiler (LTP) at Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source. This significantly expands the functionality of the LTP not only to measure mirrors surface slope profile at normal incidence, but also to characterize the groove density of VLS diffraction gratings in the Littrow incidence up to 79°, which covers virtually all diffraction gratings used at synchrotrons in the first order. The LTP light source is a 20mW HeNe laser, which yields enough signal for diffraction measurements to be performed on low angle blazed gratings optimized for soft X-ray wavelengths. We will present the design of the beam path, technical requirements for the optomechanics, and our data analysis procedure. Finally, we discuss challenges still to be overcome and potential limitations with use of the LTP to perform metrology on diffraction gratings.
We describe our progress in developing a method for correcting residual figure errors in X-ray mirrors. The technology has applications to both synchrotron radiation beamlines and X-ray astronomy. Our concept is to develop mirrors that are on the order of a millimeter thick. A magnetic smart material (MSM) is deposited onto the mirror substrate (silicon) and coated with a magnetically hard material. The shape of the mirror can be controlled by applying an external magnetic field to the mirror. This causes the MSM to expand or contract, thereby applying a magnetostrictive stress to the mirror and changing its shape. The shape change is maintained after the field has been removed by the magnetic hard material, which retains part of the field and prevents the MSM from relaxing. Here we present the results of shaping 200 µm thick silicon (100) 14 × 2 mm cantilevers and 50 × 50 × 0.1 mm substrates. We demonstrate that not only can a sizable deflection be created, but it can also be retained for ∼ 60 hours.
We demonstrate parabolic single-crystal diamond compound refractive
lenses [1] designed for coherent x-ray imaging
resilient to extreme thermal and radiation loading expected from
next generation light sources. To ensure the preservation of
coherence and resilience, the lenses are manufactured from the highest-quality
single-crystalline synthetic diamond material grown by a high-pressure
high-temperature technique. Picosecond laser milling is
applied to machine lenses to parabolic shapes with a ~1-micron
precision and surface roughness. A compound refractive lens
comprised of six lenses with a radius of curvature R=200 microns at
the vertex of the parabola and a geometrical aperture A=900 microns
focuses 10~keV x-ray photons from an undulator source at the Advanced
Photon Source facility to a focal spot size of ~ 10x40 microns^2 with a gain factor of ~100.\\
[1] S. Terentyev, V. Blank, S. Polyakov, S. Zholudev, A. Snigirev, M. Polikarpov, T. Kolodziej, J. Qian,
H. Zhou, and Yu. Shvyd'ko Applied Physics Letters 107, 111108 (2015); doi: 10.1063/1.4931357
The motion control, data acquisition and analysis system for APS Slope Measuring Profiler was implemented using the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS). EPICS was designed as a framework with software tools and applications that provide a software infrastructure used in building distributed control systems to operate devices such as particle accelerators, large experiments and major telescopes. EPICS was chosen to implement the APS Slope Measuring Profiler because it is also applicable to single purpose systems. The control and data handling capability available in the EPICS framework provides the basic functionality needed for high precision X-ray mirror measurement. Those built in capabilities include hardware integration of high-performance motion control systems (3-axis gantry and tip-tilt stages), mirror measurement devices (autocollimator, laser spot camera) and temperature sensors. Scanning the mirror and taking measurements was accomplished with an EPICS feature (the sscan record) which synchronizes motor positioning with measurement triggers and data storage. Various mirror scanning modes were automatically configured using EPICS built-in scripting. EPICS tools also provide low-level image processing (areaDetector). Operation screens were created using EPICS-aware GUI screen development tools.
Autocollimator-based long trace profiler requires precise angular calibration to perform accurate measurements for xray
mirrors. A prototype of a precision two-dimensional tip-tilting stage system has been designed and tested for a new
autocollimator-based long trace profiler at the Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL).
This flexural stage system is designed to meet challenging mechanical and optical specifications for producing high
positioning resolution and stability for angular calibration for autocollimator-based long trace profiler. It could also be
used as a precision mirror manipulator for hard x-ray nano-focusing with Montel mirror optics.
The mechanical design of a precision two-dimensional tip-tilting stage system as well as preliminary test results of its
precision positioning performance are presented in this paper.
A hybrid method combining ray-tracing and wavefront propagation was recently developed for X-ray optics
simulation and beamline design optimization. One major application of the hybrid method is its ability to assess
the effects of figure errors on the performance of focusing mirrors. In the present work, focusing profiles of
mirrors with different figure errors are simulated using three available wave optics methods: the hybrid code
based on the Fourier optics approach, the stationary phase approximation and a technique based on the direct
Fresnel-Kirchhoff diffraction integral. The advantages and limitations of each wave optics method are discussed.
We also present simulations performed using the figure errors of an elliptical cylinder mirror measured at APS
using microstitching interferometry. These results show that the hybrid method provides accurate and quick
evaluation of the expected mirror performance making it a useful tool for designing diffraction-limited focusing
beamlines.
Kirkpatrick-Baez (K-B) mirrors [1] are sophisticated x-ray micro- and nano-focusing tools for synchrotron radiation applications. A prototype of a modular x-ray K-B mirror mount system has been designed and tested at an optics testing beamline, 1-BM at the Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). This compact, costeffective modular mirror mount system is designed to meet challenging mechanical and optical specifications for producing high positioning resolution and stability for various scientific applications with focused hard x-ray beams down to the 100-nanometer scale. The optomechanical design of the modular x-ray K-B mirror mount system as well as the preliminary test results of its precision positioning performance are presented in this paper.
Crystal-based x-ray optics are widely used in the synchrotron radiation field. Such optics include monochromators,
channel-cut crystals, spectral analyzers, and phase plates that are generally made with standard fabrication tools such as
grinders, ultrasonic mills, blade saws, and wire saws. However, modern synchrotron radiation instruments require more
complicated and high-precision crystal structures that cannot be fabricated by these conventional tools. Examples include
narrow channels and crystal cavities that require smooth and strain-free sidewalls or inner surfaces. Since it is extremely
difficult to polish such surfaces by conventional means, specialized cutting tools are required to make the as-cut surfaces
as smooth as possible. A possible way to obtain such smooth surfaces is to use a dicing saw as a fabrication tool - a tool
typically used in the microelectronics industry to cut or dice semiconductor and other materials. Here we present our
studies on the use of dicing saws for cutting innovative, monolithic, x-ray optic devices comprised of tall, narrow-standing,
thin crystal-plate arrays. We report cutting parameters that include the rotational speed of the cutting blade
(a.k.a. spindle speed), cutting speed (a.k.a. feed rate), number of passes for each cut depth (if required), and diamond grit
size for producing the flattest and most smooth side walls. Blade type and construction (sintered, Ni, and resin) also play
critical roles in achieving optimum results. The best experimental data obtained produced an average surface roughness
of 49 nm and a peak-to-valley flatness of 3625 nm. By achieving these results, we have been able to assist experimenters
in the synchrotron radiation field in their efforts to create functional and novel optical devices.
The use of high quality X-ray mirrors at synchrotron beamlines as low-energy bandpass, harmonic rejection and high
heat load optical elements has become routine. Nearly perfect optical surfaces generated on substrates and held in strain-free
fixtures are of paramount importance to their success. Production of these mirrors requires extensive care, yet the
effect of residual fabrication stress has not been closely studied. This paper examines the effect of surface and near-surface
residual stress on the performance of hard X-ray mirrors using topography and X-ray reflectivity techniques. The
present approach complements the information provided by standard optical metrology, giving a more comprehensive
understanding of polishing induced surface deformation on X-ray reflectivity. This information is invaluable for the
characterization of future, coherence preserving optics where scattering and evanescent sub-surface X-ray penetration
may impact beam quality.
Kirkpatrick-Baez (KB) mirrors consist of two individual mirrors: one vertical focusing mirror and one horizontal
mirror at separate positions. Nested (Montel) KB mirrors consist of two mirrors arranged perpendicularly to each
other and side-by-side. We report our results from the fabrication and tests of the first set of nested KB mirrors for a
synchrotron hard x-ray micro/nano-focusing system. The elliptically shaped nested Platinum KB mirrors include
two 40 mm long mirrors fabricated by depositing Platinum on Silicon substrates using the magnetron sputtering
technique. Hard x-ray synchrotron tests have been performed at 15 keV and 2D focal spots of approximately 150 nm
x 150 nm (FWHM) were achieved from both monochromatic and polychromatic beams at the 34 ID beamline of the
Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory. The side-by-side arrangement of nested KB
mirrors requires them to have good surfaces and low figure errors at the intersection of the two mirrors' surfaces. It
is very challenging to fabricate substrates that fit the nested KB mirror's arrangement and to deposit thin films to
ideal elliptical shapes at the edge of the mirrors. Further research and development will be performed in the areas of
fabrication and testing with respect to nested KB mirrors used in micro/nano-focusing systems. In particular,
substrate processing and deposition techniques should be examined to improve the performance of the mirrors.
Beryllium windows are used on many X-ray synchrotron beamlines to separate and protect the ultra-high vacuum of the
storage ring from the experimental environment. Currently, such a window is typically made of a thin, high-purity,
beryllium foil, which may or may not have been polished. It is well known that these windows affect the transmitted
beam quality. The impact ranges from non-perceptible to profound, depending on the experiment.
The degradation of the X-ray beam is of increasing importance and concern, however, and in fact a number of beamlines
now are run windowless or with a very small and thin silicon nitride window. There remain many instances where a
large and robust window is desirable or necessary, and it is for this reason that developing windows that have little or no
impact on the transmitted X-ray beam quality is important.
This presentation reports on the progress in developing single-crystal beryllium X-ray windows. Due to its high purity
and homogeneity, relative structural perfection, and high polishiblity single-crystal beryllium is an attractive window
material candidate, particularly for beamlines conducting imaging or coherence-based experiments. Development of
thin and uniform windows with less than 1 nm rms surface roughness and their preliminary characterization results are
presented.
Fizeau interferometer is the most commonly used interferometer for testing optical components. The aim of this work is
to apply this technique to the measurement of elliptical Kirkpatrick-Baez (KB) mirrors during their fabrication process.
KB mirrors are widely used at synchrotron radiation facilities around the world for x-ray focusing. Fizeau interferometer
can provide accurate measurements for KB mirrors. Recently a KB mirror that can focus X-ray down to 150 nm has
been fabricated in the Argonne National Laboratory.
We report a successful fabrication and testing of the first set of Platinum (Pt)-coated Kirkpatrik-Baez (KB) mirrors for a
submicrofocusing x-ray polychromatic beam from a conventional beamline (64 m long) at the 34-ID of Advanced
Photon Source (APS). The set includes one 80 mm long mirror and one 40 mm short mirror fabricated by depositing Pt
on finely polished spherical Silicon (Si) substrates using the APS-developed profile coating technique with the
magnetron sputtering system. Profile coating masks were calculated through the coating profile data from metrology
measurements acquired using interferometric stitching technique. Instead of flat substrates, spherical substrates (with
shapes approximately mimicking the tangential profiles of the desired ellipses) were used, reducing the coating thickness
and, thus, stress. The mirror pair was commissioned on the beamline and generated a 2-D spot with full width at half
maximum (FWHM) 280 nm (V) x 150 nm (H). The detailed fabrication methods, metrology measurements, and
calculations are discussed.
Fabrication and evaluation of elliptical X-ray mirrors, such as Kirkpatrick-Baez (K-B) mirrors
produced by the profile-coating technique, requires accurate surface figure measurements over a wide range of
spatial frequencies. Microstitching interferometry has proven to fulfill this requirement for length scales from a
few μm up to the full mirror length. At the Advanced Photon Source, a state-of-the-art microroughness
microscope interferometer that incorporates advanced microstitching capability has been used to obtain
measurements of profile-coated elliptical K-B mirrors. The stitched surface height data provide previously
unattainable resolution and reproducibility, which has facilitated the fabrication of ultrasmooth (< 1 nm rms
residual height) profile-coated mirrors, whose hard X-ray focusing performance is expected to approach the
diffraction limit. This paper describes the system capabilities and limitations. Results of measurements obtained
with it will be discussed and compared with those obtained with the Long Trace Profiler.
The first series of metrology round-robin measurements carried out in 2005 at the APS, ESRF and SPring-8 metrology
laboratories involving two flat x-ray mirrors and a cylindrical x-ray mirror has shown excellent agreement among the
three facilities' Long Trace Profilers (LTP) despite their architectural differences. Because of the growing interest in
diffraction-limited hard x-ray K-B focusing mirrors, it was decided to extend the round robin measurements to spherical
and aspheric x-ray mirrors. The strong surface slope variation of these mirrors presents a real challenge to LTP. As a
result, new LTP measurement protocol has to be developed and implemented to ensure measurement accuracy and
consistency.
In this paper, different measurement techniques and procedures will be described, the results will be discussed,
and comparison will be extended to micro-stitching interferometry measurements performed at Osaka University, Japan.
Long trace profilers (LTPs)(1) have been used at many synchrotron radiation laboratories worldwide for over a decade to
measure surface slope profiles of long grazing incidence x-ray mirrors. Phase measuring interferometers (PMIs) of the
Fizeau type, on the other hand, are being used by most mirror manufacturers to accomplish the same task. However,
large mirrors whose dimensions exceed the aperture of the Fizeau interferometer require measurements to be carried out
at grazing incidence, and aspheric optics require the use of a null lens. While an LTP provides a direct measurement of
1D slope profiles, PMIs measure area height profiles from which the slope can be obtained by a differentiation
algorithm. Measurements of the two types of instruments have been found by us to be in good agreement, but to our
knowledge there is no published work directly comparing the two instruments. This paper documents that comparison.
We measured two different nominally flat mirrors with both the LTP in operation at the Advanced Photon Source (a
type-II LTP) and a Fizeau-type PMI interferometer (Wyko model 6000). One mirror was 500 mm long and made of
Zerodur, and the other mirror was 350 mm long and made of silicon. Slope error results with these instruments agree
within nearly 100% (3.11±0.15 μrad for the LTP, and 3.11±0.02μrad for the Fizeau PMI interferometer) for the
medium quality Zerodur mirror with 3 μrad rms nominal slope error. A significant difference was observed with the
much higher quality silicon mirror. For the Si mirror, slope error data is 0.39±0.08Χrad from LTP measurements but it
is 0.35 ± 0.01 μrad from PMI interferometer measurements. The standard deviations show that the Fizeau PMI
interferometer has much better measurement repeatability.
This paper presents the first series of round-robin metrology measurements of x-ray mirrors organized at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) in the USA, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in France, and the Super Photon Ring (SPring-8) (in a collaboration with Osaka University,) in Japan. This work is part of the three institutions' three-way agreement to promote a direct exchange of research information and experience amongst their specialists. The purpose of the metrology round robin is to compare the performance and limitations of the instrumentation used at the optical metrology laboratories of these facilities and to set the basis for establishing guidelines and procedures to accurately perform the measurements. The optics used in the measurements were selected to reflect typical, as well as state of the art, in mirror fabrication. The first series of the round robin measurements focuses on flat and cylindrical mirrors with varying sizes and quality. Three mirrors (two flats and one cylinder) were successively measured using long trace profilers. Although the three facilities' LTPs are of different design, the measurements were found to be in excellent agreement. The maximum discrepancy of the rms slope error values is 0.1 μrad, that of the rms shape error was 3 nm, and they all relate to the measurement of the cylindrical mirror. The next round-robin measurements will deal with elliptical and spherical optics.
Channel-cut monochromators can be easily incorporated in high-resolution image techniques. However, polishing on the inner diffracting surfaces is difficult because of blockage by the opposite face. To address this difficulty, an open-faced monolithic monochromator has been designed, produced and tested using x-rays at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). The open-faced channel cut has a “Z”-shape geometry with a hole in the mid section to allow passage of the diffracted beam. The open geometry allowed chemical mechanical polishing so that an optically smooth finish on both surfaces was achieved. The high-resolution x-ray imaging and topography measurements revealed that the new design introduces significantly less distortions in the phase-contrast images compared with conventional channel-cut monochromators produced using etching alone.
X-ray mirrors and multilayers are used to reflect, focus, or monochromatize x-ray beams. Substrate materials are typically silicon, fused silica, Zerodur, ULE, or metals such as molybdenum, copper, or stainless steel. Substrates are polished to a few angstroms rms roughness and often coated with one or more layers to provide the desired spectral reflectivity.
Coatings can be damaged as a result of mishandling, contamination and/or chemical reaction, prolonged exposure to x-rays, exposure to poor vacuum, aging, or peeling due to poor coating adhesion and/or high stress. Incomplete or out-of-spec coatings may render an optic unacceptable. In all these cases, it is highly desirable to be able to
completely strip off a coating and recoat the substrate without the need for repolishing it. This is particularly important for optical substrates that are expensive or have a long fabrication lead-time.
This paper describes one such scheme. It involves pre-coating of mirror reflecting surfaces with a thin layer of chromium. Subsequent coatings can be stripped by etching away the chromium underlayer without damaging the substrate. Experimental results show that surface roughness is unaffected by the etching process in silicon and
zerodur, the two substrate material tested so far. The process is expected to be equally applicable to other glasses and can be extended to other substrate materials using appropriate underlayer / etchant combinations.
X-ray mirrors are polished and often coated optical substrates used on many synchrotron x-ray beamlines to reflect, focus, steer, or filter x-ray beams. Because their performance depends strongly on their surface quality, they are usually evaluated after delivery, independently (from the vendor), for compliance before acceptance by the buyer. This paper summarizes results of surface roughness and slope error measurements of mirrors delivered to the Advance Photon Source (APS) and evaluated in the metrology laboratory during the period 1996 - 2001, using non-contact surface profilometry. For all the mirrors evaluated, the measured root-mean square (rms) slope error values range from 0.5 to 4.7 (mu) rad rms, and the surface rms values range from 0.9 to 4.3 A rms. Most of the measured mirrors have met the user specifications.
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