Brice Arnold

Full spatial characterization of a nanofocused x-ray free-electron laser beam by ptychographic imaging

The emergence of hard X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) enables new insights into many fields of science. These new sources provide short, highly intense, and coherent X-ray pulses. In a variety of scientific applications these pulses need to be strongly focused. In this article, we demonstrate focusing of hard X-ray FEL pulses to 125 nm using refractive x-ray optics. For a quantitative analysis of most experiments, the wave field or at least the intensity distribution illuminating the sample is needed. We report on the full characterization of a nanofocused XFEL beam by ptychographic imaging, giving access to the complex wave field in the nanofocus. From these data, we obtain the full caustic of the beam, identify the aberrations of the optic, and determine the wave field for individual pulses. This information is for example crucial for high-resolution imaging, creating matter in extreme conditions, and nonlinear x-ray optics.

The Matter in Extreme Conditions instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source

A description of the Matter in Extreme Conditions instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source is given. Recent scientific highlights illustrate phase-contrast imaging of shock waves, X-ray Thomson scattering and X-ray diffraction of shocked materials.

Imaging Shock Waves in Diamond with Both High Temporal and Spatial Resolution at an XFEL

The advent of hard x-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) has opened up a variety of scientific opportunities in areas as diverse as atomic physics, plasma physics, nonlinear optics in the x-ray range, and protein crystallography. In this article, we access a new field of science by measuring quantitatively the local bulk properties and dynamics of matter under extreme conditions, in this case by using the short XFEL pulse to image an elastic compression wave in diamond. The elastic wave was initiated by an intense optical laser pulse and was imaged at different delay times after the optical pump pulse using magnified x-ray phase-contrast imaging. The temporal evolution of the shock wave can be monitored, yielding detailed information on shock dynamics, such as the shock velocity, the shock front width, and the local compression of the material. The method provides a quantitative perspective on the state of matter in extreme conditions.

Focusing XFEL SASE pulses by rotationally parabolic refractive x-ray lenses

Using rotationally parabolic refractive x-ray lenses made of beryllium, we focus hard x-ray free-electron laser pulses of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) down to a spot size in the 100 nm range. We demonstrated ecient nanofocusing and characterized the nanofocused wave

The Phase-Contrast Imaging Instrument at the Matter in Extreme Conditions Endstation at LCLS

We describe the phase-contrast imaging instrument at the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) endstation of the Linac Coherent Light Source. The instrument can image phenomena with a spatial resolution of a few hundreds of nanometers and at the same time reveal the atomic structure through X-ray diffraction, with a temporal resolution better than 100 fs. It was specifically designed for studies relevant to high-energy-density science and can monitor, e.g., shock fronts, phase transitions, or void collapses. This versatile instrument was commissioned last year and is now available to the MEC user community.

Developing a platform for high-resolution phase contrastimaging of high pressure shock waves in matter

Current and upcoming X-ray sources, such as the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC, USA), the SPring-8 Angstrom Compact Free Electron Laser (SACLA, Japan), or the X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL, Germany) will provide X-ray beams with outstanding properties.1, 2 Short and intense X-ray pulses of about 50 fs time duration and even shorter will push X-ray science to new frontiers such as, e. g., in high-resolution X-ray imaging, high-energy-density physics or in dynamical studies based on pump-probe techniques. Fast processes in matter often require high-resolution imaging capabilities either by magnified imaging in direct space or diffractive imaging in reciprocal space. In both cases highest resolutions require focusing the X-ray beam.3, 4 In order to further develop high-resolution imaging at free-electron laser sources we are planning a platform to carry out high-resolution phase contrast imaging experiments based on Beryllium compound refractive X-ray lenses (Be-CRLs) at the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) endstation of the LCLS. The instrument provides all necessary equipment to induce high pressure shock waves by optical lasers. The propagation of a shock wave is then monitored with an X-ray Free Electron Laser (FEL) pulse by magnified phase contrast imaging. With the CRL optics, X-ray beam sizes in the sub-100nm range are expected, leading to a similar spatial resolution in the direct coherent projection image. The experiment combines different state-of-the art scientific techniques that are currently available at the LCLS. In this proceedings paper we describe the technical developments carried out at the LCLS in order to implement magnified X-ray phase contrast imaging at the MEC endstation.

Compound refractive lenses as prefocusing optics for X-ray FEL radiation

A prefocusing compound refractive lens was implemented for the Matter under Extreme Conditions Instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source. A significant improvement in the beamline transmission was calculated and observed at 5 keV.

LCLS mirror switching of x-ray beam

The number of proposals for LCLS science has rapidly increased as all six LCLS x-ray instruments have come online. It created rising demand on beam time. Statistics shows that only about 25 % of LCLS proposals can be allocated beam time. One way to increase access is to share the x-ray beam between the different instruments. The purpose of this study is to quickly switch the x-ray beam between the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) Instrument and the Coherent X-ray Imaging (CXI) or X-ray Correlation Spectroscopy (XCS) Instruments, in order that two of the instruments can perform experiments simultaneously. In the most common operational mode, the MEC Instrument uses one x-ray pulse every 10 minutes, limited by the repetition rate of the high power nanosecond laser system. The MEC M3H mirror steers the x-ray beam to the MEC Instrument from the XCS or CXI Instruments. If the M3H mirror could switch the x-ray beam to MEC within a fraction of the 10 minutes waiting time, multiplexing of the x-ray beam would be achieved. The M3H mirror system has two motion stages for translation and rotation. The long path, 230 m, from the mirror to MEC hutch makes the pointing resolution 0f 100 microns and stability requirements challenging. The present study investigates such capabilities by measuring the correlation between the translation speed and the beam pointing reproducibility. We show that mirror translation can multiplex the LCLS x-ray beam.

Full characterization of a focused wave field with sub 100 nm resolution

A hard x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) provides an x-ray source with an extraordinary high peak-brilliance, a time structure with extremely short pulses and with a large degree of coherence, opening the door to new scientific fields. Many XFEL experiments require the x-ray beam to be focused to nanometer dimensions or, at least, benefit from such a focused beam. A detailed knowledge about the illuminating beam helps to interpret the measurements or is even inevitable to make full use of the focused beam. In this paper we report on focusing an XFEL beam to a transverse size of 125nm and how we applied ptychographic imaging to measure the complex wavefield in the focal plane in terms of phase and amplitude. Propagating the wavefield back and forth we are able to reconstruct the full caustic of the beam, revealing aberrations of the nano-focusing optic. By this method we not only obtain the averaged illumination but also the wavefield of individual XFEL pulses.