scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Journal ArticleDOI

A Superbend X-Ray Microdiffraction Beamline at the Advanced Light Source

TL;DR: Beamline 12.3.2 at the Advanced Light Source is a newly commissioned beamline dedicated to x-ray microdiffraction, which operates in both monochromatic and polychromatic radiation mode.
Abstract: Beamline 12.3.2 at the Advanced Light Source is a newly commissioned beamline dedicated to x-ray microdiffraction. It operates in both monochromatic and polychromatic radiation mode. The facility uses a superconducting bending magnet source to deliver an X-ray spectrum ranging from 5 to 22 keV. The beam is focused down to {approx} 1 um size at the sample position using a pair of elliptically bent Kirkpatrick-Baez mirrors enclosed in a vacuum box. The sample placed on high precision stages can be raster-scanned under the microbeam while a diffraction pattern is taken at each step. The arrays of diffraction patterns are then analyzed to derive distribution maps of phases, strain/stress and/or plastic deformation inside the sample.

Summary (2 min read)

Introduction

  • Over the years, X-ray microdiffraction (uXRD) has become one of the several standard tools used at synchrotron facilities to identify and characterize materials at micron- and submicron scale.
  • A typical modern microdiffraction setup delivers a focused monochromatic beam onto the sample and is equipped with an X-ray area detector mounted on a diffractometer t collect 2D diffraction patterns in transmission mode (requiring the use of a beam stop).
  • Data are then analyzed via software such as Fit2D. [4].
  • Along with groups at the APS and NSLS, the ALS has pioneered some of these techniques and has offered a dedicated poly/monochromatic station on the bending magnet beamline 7.3.3 open to the users community since 2001. [6].
  • The energy range can be exte ded and the increased flux at high energy allows using a smaller source size and thus obtaining a smaller focus spot size by flux trade-off.

Beamline description

  • The general design of the beamline is similar to the previous end-station on ALS beamline 7.3.3 [6].
  • The beamline uses one of the three 6 Tesla superconducting magnet sources of the Advanced Light Source which provides a critical energy at about 12 keV, extending the photon spectrum range well into the hard x-ray regime.
  • Water-cooled tungsten roll slits are used to adjust the virtual source size and therefore the size of the focused beam onto the sample.
  • The KB mirrors assembly is Peltier-cooled to compensate for the heat load on the mirrors inside the optic box vacuum chamber.
  • Using polychromatic radiation, strain states in the sample are obtained by fitting the angular differences between reflections using a non-linear least square method.

Beamline performance and capabilities

  • Beam spot size has been minimized using an on-line KB adjustment system.
  • The technique uses the Hartmann method to adjust the bends and pitch of the KB mirrors. [7].
  • This focus however has slightly degraded over time but stays stable around 1 um for several months.
  • Vibrations of the sample stage relative to the optics box have been measured at ~500 nm rms and are probably one of the main factor preventing us from obtaining a sub 500 nm spot size, although it is not the limiting factor for the current 1 um size beam.
  • This software’s main feature is its ability to index thousands of patterns in an automated way and convert the information extracted from individual patterns (such as crystal orientation and strain) into two-dimensional maps.

Applications

  • The beamline uses two modes of operations that can be employed in a complementary way (Fig 5).
  • It was observed that grains which are sitting in a current crowding reg on at the anode corner of the solder ball show significant rotation of up to 0.4º over the length of the experiment, while no other grain in the sample displays such changes in orientation.
  • Monochromatic beam mode X-ray microdiffraction is suitable for polycrystalline samples with grain size much smaller than the beam size (nanometric sizes).
  • In that case, the diffraction patterns are powder patterns (Debye-Scherrer rings) for which the ring positions can be fitted against a crystal structure database allowing for phase identification.
  • Other phases that have been identified in the slips are a spinel (MgAl2O4) in the yellow slip and corundum (Al2O3) in both layers, while hematite and anorthite are ingredients of the body.

Conclusions and future prospects

  • Beamline 12.3.2 is a versatile X-ray microdiffraction station recently built at the Advanced Light Source on a superconducting magnet source.
  • The beamline is fully operational and is now open to the user community.
  • Some of the enhanced capabilities of the beamline compared to the old bending magnet beamline 7.3.3 are a higher photon flux on the sample, better strain resolution, broader energy bandpass, enhanced computing capabilities (use of 24 node dual processor Linux cluster) and enhanced sample positioning system.
  • Problems currently or about to be addressed are: sub-500 nm spot size on the sample, sample stage vibrations issues, and reduced data collection time due to long detector readout time.

Did you find this useful? Give us your feedback

Content maybe subject to copyright    Report

A Superbend X-Ray Microdiffraction Beamline at the Advanced Light Source
N. Tamura, M. Kunz, K. Chen, R.S. Celestre, A.A. MacDowell and T. Warwick
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley CA 94720
Corresponding author: N. Tamura, email:
ntamura@lbl.gov
Abstract
Beamline 12.3.2 at the Advanced Light Source is a newly commissioned beamline
dedicated to x-ray microdiffraction. It operates in both monochromatic and
polychromatic radiation mode. The facility uses a superconducting bending magnet
source to deliver an X-ray spectrum ranging from 5 to 22 keV. The beam is focused
down to ~ 1 um size at the sample position using a pair of elliptically bent Kirkpatrick-
Baez mirrors enclosed in a vacuum box. The sample placed on high precision stages can
be raster-scanned under the microbeam while a diffraction pattern is taken at each step.
The arrays of diffraction patterns are then analyzed to derive distribution maps of phases,
strain/stress and/or plastic deformation inside the sample.
Keywords: x-ray microdiffraction, x-ray beamline, Laue diffraction, strain/stress
measurements, microprobe
Introduction
Over the years, X-ray microdiffraction (uXRD) has become one of the several standard
tools used at synchrotron facilities to identify and characterize materials at micron- and
submicron scale. X-ray beam sizes and therefore spatial resolutions range from a few
microns down to a few tens of nanometers depending on the source, photon energy range,
focusing optics and other beamline characteristics.
[1-3]
X-ray microdiffraction is often
used in complement to microspectroscopy techniques such as microfluorescence (uXRF),
micro X-ray absorption near-edge structure (uXANES) and micro- extended X-ray
absorption fine structure ( uEXAFS) spectroscopies and is mainly a phase identification
tool for minute or highly heterogeneous samples.
A typical modern microdiffraction setup delivers a focused monochromatic beam onto
the sample and is equipped with an X-ray area detector mounted on a diffractometer to
collect 2D diffraction patterns in transmission mode (requiring the use of a beam stop).
Data are then analyzed via software such as Fit2D.
[4]
A few beamlines at the Advanced
Photon Source (APS), Advanced Light Source (ALS), European Synchrotron Radiation
Facility (ESRF), National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), Canadian Light Source
(CLS), Swiss Light Source (SLS) and Pohang Light Source (PLS) offer a more or less
dedicated microdiffraction station with enhanced capabilities such as polychromatic
beam for strain measurement and 3-dimensional (depth-resolving) X-ray diffraction.
[5-6]

Along with groups at the APS and NSLS, the ALS has pioneered some of these
techniques and has offered a dedicated poly/monochromatic station on the bending
magnet beamline 7.3.3 open to the users community since 2001.
[6]
The user program on
ALS beamline 7.3.3 has proven to be highly successful. However, with the increasing
complexity of new scientific problems a number of potential limitations in beamline
capabilities became apparent. These limitations include limited spatial resolution (around
1 um) and strain resolution (typically 2. 10
-4
), limited energy range (5-12 keV), limited
flux in monochromatic mode, and time-consuming data collection and analysis.
Exchanging a regular ALS bending magnet for a superconducting magnet is a good way
to address most of these issues (Fig.1). For instance, the energy range can be extended
and the increased flux at high energy allows using a smaller source size and thus
obtaining a smaller focus spot size by flux trade-off. Increased flux also decreases data
collection time and improves strain resolution through better statistics provided by an
increased number of Laue spots. Higher energy photons also open the possibility of depth
profiling techniques as the penetration depth in the sample increases.
This paper briefly describes the beamline optic components and goes over some of the
improved capabilities and benefits obtained from the move of the ALS X-ray
microdiffraction program to a superconducting bending magnet source. A concluding
section will go over some of the first scientific applications that came out of that
beamline.
Beamline description
The general design of the beamline is similar to the previous end-station on ALS
beamline 7.3.3
[6]
. Only a few parts of the original beamline have been recycled to the
new one (tungsten rotary slits, X-ray CCD detector and diffractometer 2θ arm). Figure 2
shows the outline of the beamline in elevation and plan views. The beamline uses one of
the three 6 Tesla superconducting magnet sources of the Advanced Light Source which
provides a critical energy at about 12 keV, extending the photon spectrum range well into
the hard x-ray regime. The first optic encountered by the x-ray beam is a horizontally
deflecting toroidal mirror that conveys the beam to a virtual source just after the
experimental hutch entrance. The Pt (25 nm) and Rh (8 nm) coated silicon toroidal mirror
operates at a grazing angle of 3.5 mrad cutting off the energy spectrum at about 22 keV.
Water-cooled tungsten roll slits are used to adjust the virtual source size and therefore the
size of the focused beam onto the sample. Final focusing is achieved using a Kirkpatrick-
Baez (KB) mirror assembly contained in a vacuum box. The KB mirrors assembly is
Peltier-cooled to compensate for the heat load on the mirrors inside the optic box vacuum
chamber. The demagnifications to obtain a 1x1 um
2
size beam are approximately 16:1
and 8:1 for the vertical and horizontal KBs respectively. The choice of using KBs is
directed by the use of polychromatic radiation, as they are to date the most efficient
achromatic optics available. The beamline can switch between white and monochromatic
beam by way of a 2 channel-cut - 4 bounces Si(111) monochromator. This particular
design is aimed for having the possibility to illuminate the same spot on the sample with
either white or monochromatic beam independent of energy. The two channel-cuts are

mounted on roll-bearing rotation stages that are independently driven by linear motors via
a sine bar mechanism, replacing the previous 7.3.3 technology that used a tape-drive
system. The sample stages are placed on a high precision XYZ stage for accurate
positioning. A χ stage defines the incident beam angle onto the sample. Diffraction
patterns are collected using a MAR133 X-ray detector and X-ray fluorescence signal by a
Vortex Si-drift detector coupled with a XIA multi channel analyzer. The design is
flexible to allow for both reflective and transmitting sample geometries. Precise
positioning (within a few microns) of the sample into the focal point of the beam is
obtained via a Keyence laser triangulation tool.
The main differences with the previous bending magnet beamline are the extended
energy range (up to 22 keV) and increased flux allowing scaling down the exposure time
for diffraction patterns by almost an order of magnitude. Using polychromatic radiation,
strain states in the sample are obtained by fitting the angular differences between
reflections using a non-linear least square method. Strain resolution depends on the
number of reflections used in the fit. By extending the available energy range from 12
keV to 22 keV, the number of available spots significantly increases, allowing for almost
an order of magnitude better strain resolution if compared to identical material as
measured on ALS beamline 7.3.3 (from 2 10
-4
down to 5 10
-5
for a typical metal sample)
(Figure 3). Another difference with the previous system is the use of a vacuum box
instead of a He-filled box for the optics, giving rise to additional flux gain although the
main reason is more practical as no gas flow is necessary and risk of ozone formation is
minimized. Apart from the M1 mirror, all the optical components of the beamline are
inside a vacuum chamber sitting on an optical table inside the experimental hutch, and
evacuated first by a dry roughing pump and then by a turbo pump that provides a vacuum
of about 10
-5
Torr. Some extra care has been taken to enhance the mechanical coupling
between the optic box and the sample stages to limit differential vibrations as well as
temperature drifts. The hutch itself is maintained at a constant temperature of 22 +/-0.1
ºC. by an air conditioning system. The tungsten rotary slits are water-cooled, while the
monochromator crystals and the KB assembly use a water-based Peltier cooling system.
Beamline performance and capabilities
Beam spot size has been minimized using an on-line KB adjustment system. This consists
of a pair of adjustable size slits acting as a pinhole upstream of the KBs and a scintillator
(1 mm thick piece of single crystal CdWO
4
) and an optical CCD camera equipped with a
zoom lens. The system is positioned at the x-ray beam focal point. The technique uses the
Hartmann method to adjust the bends and pitch of the KB mirrors.
[7]
With this technique,
mirror figure errors of 0.2 urad can be measured and corrected for. The size of the spot
has been measured by a knife-edge method using a 150 um diameter tungsten wire. The
best focus obtained with the current KB mirrors assembly was 630 nm (h) x 500 nm (v)
(Fig. 4). This focus however has slightly degraded over time but stays stable around 1 um
for several months. Vibrations of the sample stage relative to the optics box have been
measured at ~500 nm rms and are probably one of the main factor preventing us from
obtaining a sub 500 nm spot size, although it is not the limiting factor for the current 1

um size beam. The vibration problem is in the process of being remediated by a clamping
system that will reduce the mechanical loop between the optic box and the upper sample
stages while the χ motor is unused.
Key to the success of the microdiffraction program is the ability to extract quantitative
information from both white and monochromatic beam patterns. On beamline 12.3.2, this
is achieved by using an in-house continuously evolving dedicated software called XMAS
(X-ray Microdiffraction Analysis Software).
[6]
This software’s main feature is its ability
to index thousands of patterns in an automated way and convert the information extracted
from individual patterns (such as crystal orientation and strain) into two-dimensional
maps. The indexing algorithm consists in finding angular matches of 3 non-collinear
experimental scattering vectors calculated from the spot position on the X-ray CCD
detector with those calculated from a known structure. This simple algorithm proved to
be highly robust allowing indexing up to 100 grains in a single “polycrystal” Laue pattern
or analyzing Laue patterns with fuzzy and/or highly distorted peaks due to mechanical
deformations. It tends however to be time-consuming in the cases of low symmetry
structures (triclinic, monoclinic) and large unit cell phases, but works well for most
applications in metal physics.
Applications
The beamline uses two modes of operations that can be employed in a complementary
way (Fig 5). For both modes, the sample can be raster-scanned under the X-ray
microbeam while X-ray diffraction patterns or a fluorescence signal are collected at each
step. No sample rotation is required. This avoids problems related to sphere of confusion
or non-constant diffraction volume. In polychromatic mode, polycrystalline samples
consisting of grains with sizes larger than the beam size (1 micron and more) as well as
smaller isolated single crystalline particles (such as single nanowires) can be investigated.
Each Laue pattern comes from a single crystal or a limited number of single crystals and
is readily indexed using the XMAS code. Besides grain orientation, Laue patterns can
also be used to measure the deviatoric strain as well as to identify and measure the
distribution of geometrically necessary dislocations (Fig 6).
[8]
One recent example using polychromatic microdiffraction is the study of the ordering of
nacre in a red abalone shell.
[9]
Nacre is a composite biomaterial made of 95% aragonite
and 5% various proteins, essentially chitin. It is 3000 times tougher than aragonite, a feat
that is far from being achieved by any man-made composites. In order to understand the
mechanism of nacre formation, polychromatic X-ray microdiffraction has been used to
complement X-PEEM (X-Ray photoelectron emission microspectroscopy) imaging
results. Polychromatic X-ray microdiffraction indicates that the material is made up of
aragonite tablets with a c-axis spread that starts from approximately 24º at the prismatic
calcite-nacre interface and goes down to 6º a few tens of microns away (Fig. 7). This
gradual ordering is compatible with a competitive growth mechanism where the
crystallites with a c-axis normal to the interface are kinetically favored.

A second recent application of polychromatic X-ray microdiffraction is the study of the
electromigration effect in a Sn-Cu solder joint as they are used in lead-free flip-chip
technology.
[10]
Grain orientation has been carefully monitored over a time period of over
40 hours during an accelerated electromigration test with a current density of 1.25 10
4
A/cm
2
at 75 ºC. It was observed that grains which are sitting in a current crowding region
at the anode corner of the solder ball show significant rotation of up to 0.4º over the
length of the experiment, while no other grain in the sample displays such changes in
orientation. Taking into account the anisotropy of the electrical conductivity in tin, it is
found that these observed grain rotations are driven by a tendency to decrease the
electrical resistivity in the solder bump.
Monochromatic beam mode X-ray microdiffraction is suitable for polycrystalline
samples with grain size much smaller than the beam size (nanometric sizes). In that case,
the diffraction patterns are powder patterns (Debye-Scherrer rings) for which the ring
positions can be fitted against a crystal structure database allowing for phase
identification. Slight distortions of the diffraction rings also provide information on the
macrostrain while broadening is associated to particle sizes and/or microstrain.
Monochromatic beam X-ray microdiffraction finds most of its applications in phase
identification in heterogeneous samples typical of environmental and geosciences. On
beamline 12.3.2, it has been used for instance to identify components in the bright
colored coatings (slips) of gallo-roman potteries dating from first century BC to the 2
nd
century AD.
[11]
One particular example of these tablewares is Terra Sigillata of the
marbled type, where the slip is brightly colored in a mixture of red and yellow colors. X-
ray microfluorescence and monochromatic X-ray microdiffraction have been combined
to identify the composition of the slip which consists of two layers, a 10 micron thick
layer of red slip and a 30 microns thick layer of yellow slip sequentially dip-deposited at
the surface of the pottery.
[12]
The red slip turns out to be the standard hematite-based slip
used in the conventional red Terra Sigillata, while the yellow color of the second slip was
found to be due to a titanium-rich mineral called pseudobrookite (Fe
2
TiO
5
). This yellow
color can only be obtained through specific firing conditions indicative of the high level
of mastery achieved by the ancient potters. Other phases that have been identified in the
slips are a spinel (MgAl
2
O
4
) in the yellow slip and corundum (Al
2
O
3
) in both layers,
while hematite and anorthite are ingredients of the body. Micrometric sized phases such
as quartz have also been identified in a complementary way, using the polychromatic
beam mode.
Conclusions and future prospects
Beamline 12.3.2 is a versatile X-ray microdiffraction station recently built at the
Advanced Light Source on a superconducting magnet source. The beamline is fully
operational and is now open to the user community. Some of the enhanced capabilities of
the beamline compared to the old bending magnet beamline 7.3.3 are a higher photon
flux on the sample, better strain resolution, broader energy bandpass, enhanced
computing capabilities (use of 24 node dual processor Linux cluster) and enhanced
sample positioning system. Problems currently or about to be addressed are: sub-500 nm

Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Au-Yeung et al. as mentioned in this paper demonstrated that the primary cause of lattice rotation within RLS is the densification accompanying the glassn→ncrystal transformation, rather than stresses produced from the difference in thermal expansion coefficient of the two phases or paraelectricn→nferroelectric transition during cooling to ambient temperature.
Abstract: Author(s): Au-Yeung, C; Stan, C; Tamura, N; Jain, H; Dierolf, V | Abstract: Single-crystal architectures in glass, formed by a solid-solid transformation via laser heating, are novel solids with a rotating lattice. To understand the process of lattice formation that proceeds via crystal growth, we have observed in situ Sb2S3 crystal formation under X-ray irradiation with simultaneous Laue micro X-ray diffraction (μXRD) pattern collection. By translating the sample with respect to the beam, we form rotating lattice single (RLS) crystal lines with a consistently linear relationship between the rotation angle and distance from nucleation site. The lines begin with a seed crystal, followed by a transition region comprising of sub-grain or very similarly oriented grains, followed by the presence of a rotating lattice single crystal of unrestricted length. The results demonstrate that the primary cause of lattice rotation within RLS crystals is the densification accompanying the glassn→ncrystal transformation, rather than stresses produced from the difference in thermal expansion coefficient of the two phases or paraelectricn→nferroelectric transition during cooling to ambient temperature.

1 citations

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 2022

1 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Using X-ray micro-Laue diffraction, in-situ deformation of martensite is examined in a notched NiTi specimen as discussed by the authors, where the microstructure evolves heterogeneously and inelastically, with detwinning and twin nucleation occurring simultaneously through loading.
Abstract: Deformation characterization of low-symmetry phases such as martensite in SMAs is challenging due to a fine-scale hierarchical microstructure. Using X-ray microLaue diffraction, in-situ deformation of martensite is examined in a notched NiTi specimen. The local deformation is influenced by the notch stress field, initial martensite microstructure, and interaction between notch stress field and the external load. The microstructure evolves heterogeneously and inelastically, with detwinning and twin nucleation occurring simultaneously through loading. These results contrast with the traditional view of martensite deformation that is partitioned in three distinct regimes: elasticity, reorientation and de-twinning.

1 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article , the authors reconstruct the bulk chemistry of the felsic silicate-bearing Miles IIE iron meteorite and demonstrate that the silicate inclusion compositions are similar to partial melts produced experimentally from an H chondrite composition.
References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
21 Feb 2002-Nature
TL;DR: A three-dimensional X-ray microscopy technique that uses polychromatic synchrotron X-rays to probe local crystal structure, orientation and strain tensors with submicrometre spatial resolution is described, applicable to single-crystal, polycrystalline, composite and functionally graded materials.
Abstract: Advanced materials and processing techniques are based largely on the generation and control of non-homogeneous microstructures, such as precipitates and grain boundaries. X-ray tomography can provide three-dimensional density and chemical distributions of such structures with submicrometre resolution; structural methods exist that give submicrometre resolution in two dimensions; and techniques are available for obtaining grain-centroid positions and grain-average strains in three dimensions. But non-destructive point-to-point three-dimensional structural probes have not hitherto been available for investigations at the critical mesoscopic length scales (tenths to hundreds of micrometres). As a result, investigations of three-dimensional mesoscale phenomena--such as grain growth, deformation, crumpling and strain-gradient effects--rely increasingly on computation and modelling without direct experimental input. Here we describe a three-dimensional X-ray microscopy technique that uses polychromatic synchrotron X-ray microbeams to probe local crystal structure, orientation and strain tensors with submicrometre spatial resolution. We demonstrate the utility of this approach with micrometre-resolution three-dimensional measurements of grain orientations and sizes in polycrystalline aluminium, and with micrometre depth-resolved measurements of elastic strain tensors in cylindrically bent silicon. This technique is applicable to single-crystal, polycrystalline, composite and functionally graded materials.

689 citations

Book ChapterDOI
14 Dec 2007

293 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Scanning X-ray microdiffraction (microSXRD) combines the use of high-brilliance synchrotron sources with the latest achromaticX-ray focusing optics and fast large-area two-dimensional-detector technology to study thin aluminium and copper blanket films and lines following electromigration testing and/or thermal cycling experiments.
Abstract: Scanning X-ray microdiffraction (µSXRD) combines the use of high-brilliance synchrotron sources with the latest achromatic X-ray focusing optics and fast large-area two-dimensional-detector technology. Using white beams or a combination of white and monochromatic beams, this technique allows for the orientation and strain/stress mapping of polycrystalline thin films with submicrometer spatial resolution. The technique is described in detail as applied to the study of thin aluminium and copper blanket films and lines following electromigration testing and/or thermal cycling experiments. It is shown that there are significant orientation and strain/stress variations between grains and inside individual grains. A polycrystalline film when investigated at the granular (micrometer) level shows a highly mechanically inhomogeneous medium that allows insight into its mesoscopic properties. If the µSXRD data are averaged over a macroscopic range, results show good agreement with direct macroscopic texture and stress measurements.

270 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed a fabrication system for hard x-ray mirrors by developing elastic emission machining, microstitching interferometry, and relative angle determinable stitching interference.
Abstract: Nanofocused x rays are indispensable because they can provide high spatial resolution and high sensitivity for x-ray nanoscopy/spectroscopy. A focusing system using total reflection mirrors is one of the most promising methods for producing nanofocused x rays due to its high efficiency and energy-tunable focusing. The authors have developed a fabrication system for hard x-ray mirrors by developing elastic emission machining, microstitching interferometry, and relative angle determinable stitching interferometry. By using an ultraprecisely figured mirror, they realized hard x-ray line focusing with a beam width of 25nm at 15keV. The focusing test was performed at the 1-km-long beamline of SPring-8.

213 citations


Additional excerpts

  • ...[1] H....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the Kirkpatrick-Baez reflecting mirror was used to focus an x-ray beam with energy of 20.5keV to a spot size as small as 90nm×90nm by a reflecting mirror with a graded multilayer.
Abstract: An x-ray beam with energy of 20.5keV has been efficiently focused down to a spot size as small as 90nm×90nm by a Kirkpatrick–Baez reflecting mirrors device. The first mirror, coated with a graded multilayer, plays both the role of vertical focusing device and monochromator, resulting in a very high flux (2×1011photons∕s) and medium monochromaticity (ΔE∕E∼10−2). Evaluation of the error contributions shows that the vertical focus is presently limited by the mirror figure errors, while the horizontal focus is limited by the horizontal extension of the x-ray source. With a gain in excess of a few million, this device opens up new possibilities in trace element nanoanalysis and fast projection microscopy.

184 citations


Additional excerpts

  • ...[2] O....

    [...]