Naresh Kujala

Probing transverse coherence of x-ray beam with 2-D phase grating interferometer.

Transverse coherence of the x-ray beam from a bending magnet source was studied along multiple directions using a 2-D π/2 phase grating by measuring interferogram visibilities at different distances behind the grating. These measurements suggest that the preferred measuring orientation of a 2-D checkerboard grating is along the diagonal directions of the square blocks, where the interferograms have higher visibility and are not sensitive to the deviation of the duty cycle of the grating period. These observations are verified by thorough wavefront propagation simulations. The accuracy of the measured coherence values was also validated by the simulation and analytical results obtained from the source parameters. In addition, capability of the technique in probing spatially resolved local transverse coherence is demonstrated.

Circular grating interferometer for mapping transverse coherence area of X-ray beams

A circular grating interferometer was used to map the transverse coherence area of an X-ray beam. Due to the radial symmetry of the circular grating, coherence lengths along all transverse directions were obtained simultaneously by measuring the visibility decay of interferograms recorded at different distances behind a single circular π/2 phase grating. The technique is model-free and provides direct measurement of the complex coherence factor of the beam. The use of a circular grating also enables the unique capability of measuring the source shape profile. Sensitivity of this technique was demonstrated by detecting the small source tilt of a few degrees.

Diffraction properties of multilayer Laue lenses with an aperture of 102 µm and WSi₂/Al bilayers.

We report on the characterization of a multilayer Laue lens (MLL) with large acceptance, made of a novel WSi2/Al bilayer system. Fabrication of multilayers with large deposition thickness is required to obtain MLL structures with sufficient apertures capable of accepting the full lateral coherence length of x-rays at typical nanofocusing beamlines. To date, the total deposition thickness has been limited by stress-buildup in the multilayer. We were able to grow WSi2/Al with low grown-in stress, and asses the degree of stress reduction. X-ray diffraction experiments were conducted at beamline 1-BM at the Advanced Photon Source. We used monochromatic x-rays with a photon energy of 12 keV and a bandwidth of ΔE/E=5.4·10(-4). The MLL was grown with parallel layer interfaces, and was designed to have a large focal length of 9.6 mm. The mounted lens was 2.7 mm in width. We found and quantified kinks and bending of sections of the MLL. Sections with bending were found to partly have a systematic progression in the interface angles. We observed kinking in some, but not all, areas. The measurements are compared with dynamic diffraction calculations made with Coupled Wave Theory. Data are plotted showing the diffraction efficiency as a function of the external tilting angle of the entire mounted lens. This way of plotting the data was found to provide an overview into the diffraction properties of the whole lens, and enabled the following layer tilt analyses.

Development of single grating x-ray Talbot interferometer as a feedback loop sensor element of an adaptive x-ray mirror system

The initial result of using a single 2-D checkerboard phase-grating Talbot interferometer as a feed-back loop sensor element of an adaptive x-ray mirror system is reported. The test was performed by measuring the surface profile of a deformable Pt coated Silicon mirror at five different actuation states. The reflected beam was detected at the fractional Talbot distance of a π/2 phase grating. The measured interferograms were de-convolved using the spatial harmonic imaging technique to extract the phase and amplitude of the reflected wavefront. The wavefront was then propagated to the mirror center to retrieve the surface profile of the mirror. The activation of a single actuator was easily detected from the reconstructed surface profile of the mirror. The presented results indicate that the single phase-grating x-ray Talbot interferometer is capable of sensing nano-meter scale profile changes of an adaptive mirror.

Kirkpatrick–Baez mirrors to focus hard X‐rays in two dimensions as fabricated, tested and installed at the Advanced Photon Source

The micro-focusing performance for hard X-rays of a fixed-geometry elliptical Kirkpatrick-Baez (K-B) mirrors assembly fabricated, tested and finally implemented at the micro-probe beamline 8-BM of the Advanced Photon Source is reported. Testing of the K-B mirror system was performed at the optics and detector test beamline 1-BM. K-B mirrors of length 80 mm and 60 mm were fabricated by profile coating with Pt metal to produce focal lengths of 250 mm and 155 mm for 3 mrad incident angle. For the critical angle of Pt, a broad bandwidth of energies up to 20 keV applies. The classical K-B sequential mirror geometry was used, and mirrors were mounted on micro-translation stages. The beam intensity profiles were measured by differentiating the curves of intensity data measured using a wire-scanning method. A beam size of 1.3 µm (V) and 1.2 µm (H) was measured with monochromatic X-rays of 18 keV at 1-BM. After installation at 8-BM the measured focus met the design requirements. In this paper the fabrication and metrology of the K-B mirrors are reported, as well as the focusing performances of the full mirrors-plus-mount set-up at both beamlines.

X-ray optics testing beamline 1-BM at the advanced photon source

Beamline 1-BM at the APS has been reconfigured in part for testing of synchrotron optics with both monochromatic and white beams. Operational since 2013, it was reconfigured to accommodate users of the APS as well as users from other DOE facilities. Energies between 6 and 28 keV are available. The beamline was reconfigured to remove two large mirrors and to provide a 100 mm wide monochromatic beam at 54 m from the source. In addition a custom white beam shutter was implemented for topography exposures as short as 65 millisec over the full available horizontal width. Primary agendas include both white beam and monochromatic beam topography, Talbot grating interferometry, and tests of focusing optics. K-B mirrors, MLLs, and FZPs have been characterized. Measurements of the spatial coherence lengths on the beamline were obtained with Talbot interferometry. Topography data has been reported.

Optomechanical design of a modular K-B mirror mount system for x-ray microfocusing at the advanced photon source

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.

Ray tracing simulation of 1-BM beamline at the Advanced Photon Source for polarization analyses of synchrotron optics

In this paper, we present recent progress on polarization optics using the 1-BM beamline at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory. Beamline 1-BM was recently repurposed for optics and detector testing. SHADOW software, a ray-tracing program for the simulation of optical systems of synchrotron radiation beamlines, is used to model the beamline. In this paper, we present optical ray-tracing studies for test set-ups that take advantage of the polarization variation of the bending magnet radiation above and below the horizontal plane of the beamline.

A fast white-beam shutter for hard x-ray topography at beamline 1-BM of the Advanced Photon Source

Beamline 1-BM at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) delivers a white beam from a bending magnet with very intense x-ray photon flux. One important application of this beamline is white-beam x-ray topography imaging for crystal-based x-ray optics development and for industrial characterization of single crystals and epitaxial materials. Due to the intense photon flux from the third-generation synchrotron source of the APS, the exposure time of the imaging process should be accurately controlled down to the millisecond level. For this purpose we have designed and implemented a fast shutter that is vacuum compatible to 10−8 torr. The aperture is a copper block with a 70 mm horizontal and 5 mm vertical opening and is water cooled. The aperture is moved vertically up and down by means of a linear voice-coil actuator. The apertures position is controlled using encoder feedback in a servo loop running on an industrial motion controller. A shutter opening response time of 32 milliseconds was measured. In this paper, we describe the shutter mechanics and its associated electronics installed at the 1-BM, and we report example white-beam topographs of diamond type IIa crystals.

Limitations of liquid nitrogen cooling of high heat load x-ray monochromators

X-ray monochromators, made of single crystals or multilayer coatings, are the most common optical components on many synchrotron beamlines. They intercept the broad-spectrum x-ray (white or pink) beams generated by the radiation source and absorb all but select narrow spectral bands of x-rays, which are diffracted according to Bragg’s Law. With some incident beam power in the kW range, minimizing thermally induced deformation detrimental to the performance of the device necessitates the design of optimally cooled monochromators. Monochromator substrate designs have evolved, in parallel with thermal loads of the incident beams, from simple blocks with no cooling, to water cooled (both contact -cooled and internally cooled), and to cryogenically cooled designs where the undesirable thermal distortions are kept in check by operating in a temperature range where the thermomechanical properties of the substrate materials are favorable. Fortuitously, single-crystal silicon at cryogenic temperatures has an exceptionally favorable combination of high thermal conductivity and low thermal expansion coefficient. With further increases in x-ray beam power, partly as a result of the upgrades to the existing synchrotron facilities, the question arises as to the ultimate limits of liquid-nitrogen-cooled silicon monochromators’ ability to handle the increased thermal load. In this paper, we describe the difficulties and begin the investigation by using a simple geometric model for a monochromator and obtain analytical solutions for the temperature field. The temperature can be used as a proxy for thermally induced deformation. The significant role of the nonlinear material properties of silicon is examined.