EUV/X-ray Wavefront Analysis Pinhole Array
Based on years of technical expertise in high-precision micro- and nanofabrication, Top Unistar's partners, Swiss XRnanotech and Microworks, can provide Hartmann wavefront sensor plates with pinhole arrays for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray applications. These have already been successfully used for wavefront diagnostics at EUV and X-ray free-electron lasers.
Introduction
A wavefront sensor can simultaneously detect the phase and intensity of an incident light field, making it an important online wavefront diagnostic tool for light sources from the near-infrared to the X-ray range. It is widely used in synchrotron beamline alignment (e.g., adjustment of focusing mirrors and K-B focusing systems), analysis of the position, shape, and size of XUV and X-ray sources such as high harmonics and free-electron lasers, and diagnostic experiments for FEL users (where the main experiments, when the FEL beam is transparent, involved measuring the size and position of single-shot focal spots).
The Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor is currently the most common online wavefront shaping diagnostic method (as shown in Figure 1). The core idea of this method is to invert and reconstruct the actual wavefront information of the incident light field through simulated geometrical ray tracing. In simple terms, a microlens or pinhole array is used to divide the incident beam into a series of small beamlets, and based on the imaging and spatial intensity distribution of these beamlets on a CCD detector at the focal plane, the wavefront phase and intensity information of the incident light field can be deduced. Therefore, compared with traditional focal spot imaging methods such as knife-edge or microscopy imaging, the Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor can perform online diagnosis and feedback of the wavefront aberrations of focused light without affecting the experimental optical path, and can even achieve amplitude and intensity detection of single-shot pulsed light fields.
Based on years of technical accumulation in high-precision micro- and nanofabrication, Top Unistar's partners, Swiss XRnanotech and Microworkscan provide pinhole-array Hartmann wavefront sensor plates for extreme ultraviolet and X-ray applications. They have been successfully used for wavefront diagnostics of extreme ultraviolet and X-ray free-electron lasers.
Specifications
Typical processing capability
| Parameter | Typical value | Processing limit |
|---|---|---|
| Material | 10 µm Si thin film | Si, Au, W |
| Aspect ratio | 10 | >30 |
| Area | Membrane: 4.5 mm x 4.5 mm | > 10 mm x 10 mm |
Performance comparison of diamond, gold, and silicon
| Material | Diamond | Gold | Silicon |
| Atomic number | 6 | 79 | 14 |
| Density [g/cm³] | 3.52 | 19.3 | 2.33 |
| Melting point [℃] | >2000 | 1064 | 1410 |
| Thermal conductivity [W/(m·K)] | 2200 | 310 | 150 |
| 10 keV π phase-shift thickness [μm] | 8.52 | 2.07 | 12.67 |
Processing examples
| 2D silicon square holes (period: 25 μm, aperture: 12.5 μm) | 2D silicon square holes (period: 30 μm, aperture: 3 μm) |
|---|
| Gold square-hole array (period: 60 μm, apertures: 3, 4, 5 μm optional, gold thickness: ~95 μm) |
|---|
| Gold square-hole array (period: , aperture: 5.8 μm, gold thickness: ~45 μm) |
|---|
Typical Applications
- Free-electron laser wavefront measurement
- Synchrotron radiation wavefront measurement
- HHG light source wavefront measurement
Applications
Literature
1 references found
P. Vagovic et al. from the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) characterized X-ray wavefronts using interferometry with a single two-dimensional diamond phase grating. The researchers placed a checkerboard grating with a 4 μm period approximately 126 mm downstream of a waveguide, achieving a 40x magnification. Amplitude and phase distributions were successfully reconstructed from a single interferogram. With suitable phase modulators such as diamond phase gratings, the photon energy range of the single-grating setup can be extended down to 4 keV.
About Top Unistar and XRnanotech
XRnanotechis a high-tech enterprise derived from more than a decade of frontier research and development at the Paul Scherrer Institut in Switzerland, officially established in 2020, dedicated to bringing breakthrough innovations in nanoscale optics to industrial application. Among them, Mciroworks GmbH in Germany is a subsidiary of XRnanotech, highly skilled in using LIGA technology to fabricate high-aspect-ratio micro- and nanostructures.
The company's vision is to empower optical instruments worldwide to fully realize their performance potential and break through existing technological boundaries; its mission focuses on developing and manufacturing nanoscale optical components of the highest level, achieving ultimate optimization in key metrics such as resolution, efficiency, stability, and structural design.
Its product line includes: extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray Fresnel zone plates, X-ray phase-contrast gratings, diamond optical components, X-ray micro- and nano-resolution test targets, metalenses, and neutron gratings, with applications covering frontier directions such as X-ray scientific research, materials analysis, and medical imaging. Leveraging its unique Ir-line doubling technology,XRnanotech it can fabricate Fresnel zone plates with resolution as low as <10nm, and offers various materials such as gold, nickel, silicon (silicon dioxide), iridium, chromium, and even diamond.
TopUnistarAs a SwissXRnanotechcompany's exclusive agent in China, Top Unistar provides all pre-sales consultation, sales, and after-sales services to Chinese users. Meanwhile, as a leading service and solution provider in the EUV and X-ray field, Top Unistar has built up a certain scale ofinventory of EUV and X-ray related equipment and core components, enabling rapid delivery to better serve our users. Additionally, we have established a well-equippedX-ray open laboratory, furnished with multiple advanced X-ray light source systems, optical components, and detectors, supporting diverse testing, pre-research, and validation efforts including X-ray imaging, phase-contrast imaging, diffraction analysis, fluorescence detection, and X-ray source performance characterization.
We are a team passionate about extreme ultraviolet and X-ray technology. If you have any questions you would like to discuss or explore with us, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.
