Engineering topics

Siewert, Frank

Publications and source records attributed to Siewert, Frank.

11 records

DOE OSTI2019

Transfer of autocollimator calibration for use with scanning gantry profilometers for accurate determination of surface slope and curvature of state-of-the-art x-ray mirrors

X-ray optics, desired for beamlines at free-electron-laser and diffraction-limited-storage-ring x-ray light sources, must have almost perfect surfaces, capable of delivering light to experiments without significant degradation of brightness and coherence. To accurately characterize such optics at an optical metrology lab, two basic types of surface slope profilometers are used: The long trace profilers (LTPs) and nanometer optical measuring (NOM) like angular deflectometers, based on electronic autocollimator (AC) ELCOMAT-3000. The inherent systematic errors of the instrument's optical sensors set the principle limit to their measuring performance. Where autocollimator of a NOM-like profiler may be calibrated at a unique dedicated facility, this is for a particular configuration of distance, aperture size, and angular range that does not always match the exact use in a scanning measurement with the profiler. Here we discuss the developed methodology, experimental set-up, and numerical methods of transferring the calibration of one reference AC to the scanning AC of the Optical Surface Measuring System (OSMS), recently brought to operation at the ALS Xray Optics Laboratory. We show that precision calibration of the OSMS performed in three steps, allows us to provide high confidence and accuracy low-spatial-frequency metrology and not â€print into' measurements the inherent systematic error of tool in use. Here, with the examples of the OSMS measurements with a state-of-The-Art x-ray aspherical mirror, available from one of the most advanced vendors of X-ray optics, we demonstrate the high efficacy of the developed calibration procedure. The results of our work are important for obtaining high reliability data, needed for sophisticated numerical simulations of beamline performance and optimization of beamline usage of the optics. This work was supported by the U. S. Department of Energy under contract number DE-AC02-05CH11231.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2019

Investigation on lateral resolution of surface slope profilers

Here, we investigate and compare the spatial (lateral) resolution, or more generally, the optical/instrumental transfer function (OTF/ITF) of surface slope measuring profilometers of two different types that are commonly used for high accuracy characterization of x-ray optics at the long-spatial-wavelength range. These are an autocollimator based profiler, Optical Surface Measuring System (OSMS), and a long trace profiler, LTP-II, both available at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) X-Ray Optics Lab (XROL). In the OSMS, an ELCOMAT-3000 electronic auto-collimator, vertically mounted to the translation carriage and equipped with an aperture of 2.5 mm diameter, is scanned along the surface under test. The LTP-II OTF has been measured for two different configurations, a classical two-beam pencil-beam-interferometry and a single-Gaussian-beam deflectometry. For the ITF calibration, we apply a recently developed method based on test surfaces with one-dimensional (1D) linear chirped height profiles of constant slope amplitude. Analytical expressions for the OTFs, empirically deduced based on the experimental results, are presented. We also discuss the application of the results of the ITF measurements and modeling to improve the surface slope metrology with state-of-the-art x-ray mirrors.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2019

Optimization of the size and shape of the scanning aperture in autocollimator-based deflectometric profilometers

Deflectometric profilometers based on industrial electronic autocollimators (ACs), as the ELCOMAT-3000, have become indispensable tools for precision form measurements of optical surfaces. A growing number of labs at synchrotron and free electron laser x-ray facilities are going for BESSY-II NOM-like versions of the AC-based profilometers. These tools have proven capable of characterizing state-of-the-art aspherical x-ray optics with an accuracy on the level of 100 nrad (root-mean-square) over the spatial frequency range limited by the size of the aperture used in the profilometer. Normally, a round aperture with a diameter of about 2.5 mm is used. Previous investigations have shown that with the optimally aligned 2.5-mm aperture, the spatial resolution of a NOM-like profilometer corresponding to the first zero-crossing of the optical transform function (OTF) is ~1.2 mm. In this paper, we investigate the performance of an AC ELCOMAT-3000 for a slope profilometer with different aperture sizes and shapes. The results of angular calibration of the AC equipped with circular and rectangular apertures placed at different distances from the AC are discussed. The calibration was performed at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt using the original experimental arrangements, also discussed in the paper. The OTF measurements with the specially developed test sample with chirped surface slope profiles were performed at the Advanced Light Source X-Ray Optics Laboratory (XROL) in application to a new optical surface measuring system under development at the XROL. In the OTF measurements, we have shown that application of a rectangular aperture with dimensions of 1.5 mm × 3 mm improves the spatial resolution in the tangential direction by a factor of ~1.4 compared to that of the standard circular aperture of 2.5-mm diameter. We postulate that the conclusions of our investigations are crucial for reaching fundamental metrological limits in deflectometric profilometry utilizing state-of-the-art electronic autocollimators.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2018

CAMP@FLASH: an end-station for imaging, electron- and ion-spectroscopy, and pump–probe experiments at the FLASH free-electron laser

The non-monochromatic beamline BL1 at the FLASH free-electron laser facility at DESY was upgraded with new transport and focusing optics, and a new permanent end-station, CAMP, was installed. This multi-purpose instrument is optimized for electron- and ion-spectroscopy, imaging and pump–probe experiments at free-electron lasers. It can be equipped with various electron- and ion-spectrometers, along with large-area single-photon-counting pnCCD X-ray detectors, thus enabling a wide range of experiments from atomic, molecular, and cluster physics to material and energy science, chemistry and biology. Here, an overview of the layout, the beam transport and focusing capabilities, and the experimental possibilities of this new end-station are presented, as well as results from its commissioning.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Damage thresholds for blaze diffraction gratings and grazing incidence optics at an X-ray free-electron laser

The Linac Coherent Light Source is upgrading its machine to high repetition rate and to extended ranges. Novel coatings, with limited surface oxidation, which are able to work at the carbon edge, are required. In addition, high-resolution soft X-ray monochromators become necessary. One of the big challenges is to design the mirror geometry and the grating profile to have high reflectivity (or efficiency) and at the same time survive the high peak energy of the free-electron laser pulses. For these reasons the experimental damage threshold, at 900 eV, of two platinum-coated gratings with different blazed angles has been investigated. The gratings were tested at 1° grazing incidence. To validate a model for which the damage threshold on the blaze grating can be estimated by calculating the damage threshold of a mirror with an angle of incidence identical to the angle of incidence on the grating plus the blaze angle, tests on Pt-coated substrates have also been performed. The results confirmed the prediction. Uncoated silicon, platinum and SiB 3 (both deposited on a silicon substrate) were also investigated. In general, the measured damage threshold at grazing incidence is higher than that calculated under the assumption that there is no energy transport from the volume where the photons are absorbed. However, it was found that, for the case of the SiB 3 coating, the grazing incidence condition did not increase the damage threshold, indicating that the energy transport away from the extinction volume is negligible.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2016

High precision tilt stage as a key element to a universal test mirror for characterization and calibration of slope measuring instruments

The ultimate performance of surface slope metrology instrumentation, such as long trace profilers and auto-collimator based deflectometers, is limited by systematic errors that are increased when the entire angular range is used for metrology of significantly curved optics. At the ALS X-Ray Optics Laboratory, in collaboration with the HZB/BESSY-II and PTB (Germany) metrology teams, we are working on a calibration method for deflectometers, based on a concept of a universal test mirror (UTM) [V. V. Yashchuk et al., Proc. SPIE 6704, 67040A (2007)]. Potentially, the UTM method provides high performance calibration and accounts for peculiarities of the optics under test (e.g., slope distribution) and the experimental arrangement (e.g., the distance between the sensor and the optic under test). At the same time, the UTM calibration method is inherently universal, applicable to a variety of optics and experimental arrangements. In this work, we present the results of tests with a key component of the UTM system, a custom high precision tilt stage, which has been recently developed in collaboration with Physik Instrumente, GmbH. The tests have demonstrated high performance of the stage and its capability (after additional calibration) to provide angular calibration of surface slope measuring profilers over the entire instrumental dynamic range with absolute accuracy better than 30 nrad. The details of the stage design and tests are presented. We also discuss the foundation of the UTM method and calibration algorithm, as well as the possible design of a full scale UTM system.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2016

DABAM: An open-source database of X-ray mirrors metrology

An open-source database containing metrology data for X-ray mirrors is presented. It makes available metrology data (mirror heights and slopes profiles) that can be used with simulation tools for calculating the effects of optical surface errors in the performances of an optical instrument, such as a synchrotron beamline. A typical case is the degradation of the intensity profile at the focal position in a beamline due to mirror surface errors. This database for metrology (DABAM) aims to provide to the users of simulation tools the data of real mirrors. The data included in the database are described in this paper, with details of how the mirror parameters are stored. An accompanying software is provided to allow simple access and processing of these data, calculate the most usual statistical parameters, and also include the option of creating input files for most used simulation codes. In conclusion, some optics simulations are presented and discussed to illustrate the real use of the profiles from the database.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗

DOE OSTI2016

Microfocusing at the PG1 beamline at FLASH

The Kirkpatrick–Baez (KB) refocusing mirror system installed at the PG1 branch of the plane-grating monochromator beamline at the soft X-ray/XUV free-electron laser in Hamburg (FLASH) is designed to provide tight aberration-free focusing down to 4 µm × 6 µm full width at half-maximum (FWHM) on the sample. Such a focal spot size is mandatory to achieve ultimate resolution and to guarantee best performance of the vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) off-axis parabolic double-monochromator Raman spectrometer permanently installed at the PG1 beamline as an experimental end-station. The vertical beam size on the sample of the Raman spectrometer, which operates without entrance slit, defines and limits the energy resolution of the instrument which has an unprecedented design value of 2 meV for photon energies below 70 eV and about 15 meV for higher energies up to 200 eV. In order to reach the designed focal spot size of 4 µm FWHM (vertically) and to hold the highest spectrometer resolution, special fully motorized in-vacuum manipulators for the KB mirror holders have been developed and the optics have been aligned employing wavefront-sensing techniques as well as ablative imprints analysis. Lastly, aberrations like astigmatism were minimized. In this article the design and layout of the KB mirror manipulators, the alignment procedure as well as microfocus optimization results are presented.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2013

Mo/Si multilayer-coated amplitude-division beam splitters for XUV radiation sources

Amplitude-division beam splitters for XUV radiation sources have been developed and extensively characterized. Mo/Si multilayer coatings were deposited on 50 nm-thick SiN membranes. By changing the multilayer structure (periodicity, number of bilayers, etc.) the intensity of the reflected and transmitted beams were optimized for selected incident radiation parameters (wavelength, incident angle). The developed optical elements were characterized by means of XUV reflectometry and transmission measurements, atomic force microscopy and optical interferometry. Special attention was paid to the spatial homogeneity of the optical response and reflected beam wavefront distortions. Here the results of the characterization are presented and improvements required for advanced applications at XUV free-electron lasers are identified. A flatness as low as 4 nm r.m.s. on 3 × 3 mm beam splitters and 22 nm r.m.s. on 10 × 10 mm beam splitters has been obtained. The high-spatial-frequency surface roughness was about 0.7–1 nm r.m.s. The middle-spatial-frequency roughness was in the range 0.2–0.8 nm r.m.s. The reflection and transmission of the beam splitters were found to be very homogeneous, with a deviation of less than 2% across the full optical element.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2011

Optimal alignment of mirror based pentaprisms for scanning deflectometric devices

In the recent work [Proc. of SPIE 7801, 7801-2/1-12 (2010), Opt. Eng. 50(5) (2011), in press], we have reported on improvement of the Developmental Long Trace Profiler (DLTP), a slope measuring profiler available at the Advanced Light Source Optical Metrology Laboratory, achieved by replacing the bulk pentaprism with a mirror based pentaprism (MBPP). An original experimental procedure for optimal mutual alignment of the MBPP mirrors has been suggested and verified with numerical ray tracing simulations. It has been experimentally shown that the optimally aligned MBPP allows the elimination of systematic errors introduced by inhomogeneity of the optical material and fabrication imperfections of the bulk pentaprism. In the present article, we provide the analytical derivation and verification of easily executed optimal alignment algorithms for two different designs of mirror based pentaprisms. We also provide an analytical description for the mechanism for reduction of the systematic errors introduced by a typical high quality bulk pentaprism. It is also shown that residual misalignments of an MBPP introduce entirely negligible systematic errors in surface slope measurements with scanning deflectometric devices.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2010

Developmental long trace profiler using optimally aligned mirror based pentaprism

A low-budget surface slope measuring instrument, the Developmental Long Trace Profiler (DLTP), was recently brought into operation at the Advanced Light Source Optical Metrology Laboratory. The instrument is based on a precisely calibrated autocollimator and a movable pentaprism. The capability of the DLTP to achieve sub-microradian surface slope metrology has been verified via cross-comparison measurements with other high-performance slope measuring instruments when measuring the same high-quality test optics. In the present work, a further improvement of the DLTP is achieved by replacing the existing bulk pentaprism with a specially designed mirror based pentaprism. A mirror based pentaprism offers the possibility to eliminate systematic errors introduced by inhomogeneity of the optical material and fabrication imperfections of a bulk pentaprism. We provide the details of the mirror based pentaprism design and describe an original experimental procedure for precision mutual alignment of the mirrors. The algorithm of the alignment procedure and its efficiency are verified with rigorous ray tracing simulations. Results of measurements of a spherically curved test mirror and a flat test mirror using the original bulk pentaprism are compared with measurements using the new mirror based pentaprism, demonstrating the improved performance.

42 ENGINEERING↗