This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 8503, including the Title Page, Copyright Information, Table of Contents, and the Conference Committee listing.

FERMI@Elettra is a VUV/Soft X-ray Free Electron Laser (FEL) user facility under commissioning in Trieste, Italy. It provides a spatially coherent transform-limited photon beam in the sub-ps regime with high fluence and tunable wavelength. One of the FERMI beamlines, TIMEX, will be dedicated to the study of matter under extreme and metastable conditions, created and probed by the FEL radiation. Moreover, an active optics dedicated to perform the beam shaping at focus is needed in order to provide the necessary flat-top intensity distribution for heating the sample uniformly. In this work the principles of the beam shaping applied to the TIMEX beamline will be discussed as well as the adopted solution. Ray tracing simulations will be shown for theoretical mirror profiles as well as the metrological measurements with an interferometer and the Long Trace Profiler (LTP).

To construct an adaptive X-ray focusing optical system, we developed an ultraprecise deformable mirror that consists of a substrate, piezoelectric actuators, and 18 electrodes. A one-dimensional focusing test was performed at SPring-8 at 15 keV. The mirror deformation was roughly adjusted by applying voltages determined by a deformation test with a Fizeau interferometer. The shape was then finely corrected based on the shape determined by the pencil-beam method and the phase retrieval method. A focused beam with a full width at half maximum of 120 nm was obtained.

High-energy beams of X-rays used in studies of molecular structure have imperfect wavefront quality. Improved point-spread functions can in principle be made by adjustment of a deformable mirror (DM) in the beam train. Conventional DMs are unsuitable because they are not intended for use at the necessary grazing incidence angles, and the optical surface is not sufficiently stable. We describe the conceptual design for a new DM that addresses the requirements of this application. Our design draws on successful strategies employed in the adaptive secondary mirrors at the MMT and LBT telescopes, including the use of voice-coil actuators with collocated capacitive position sensors.

In the half century since the initial discovery of an astronomical (non-solar) x-ray source, the observation time required to achieve a given sensitivity has decreased by eight orders of magnitude. Largely responsible for this dramatic progress has been the refinement of the (grazing-incidence) focusing x-ray telescope, culminating with the exquisite subarcsecond imaging performance of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The future of x-ray astronomy relies upon the development of x-ray telescopes with larger aperture areas (< 1 m²) and comparable or finer angular resolution (< 1″). Combined with the special requirements of grazing-incidence optics, the mass and envelope constraints of space-borne telescopes render such advances technologically challenging—requiring precision fabrication, alignment, and assembly of large areas (< 200 m²) of lightweight (≈ 1 kg m^-2 areal density) mirrors. Achieving precise and stable alignment and figure control may entail active (in-space adjustable) x-ray optics. This paper discusses relevant programmatic and technological issues and summarizes current progress toward active x-ray telescopes.

We describe an X-ray Observatory mission with 0.5” angular resolution, comparable to the Chandra X-ray Observatory, but with 30 times more effective collecting area. The concept is based on developing the new technology of adjustable X-ray optics for ultra thin (0.4 mm), highly nested grazing incidence X-ray mirrors. Simulations to date indicate that the corrections for manufacturing and mounting can be determined on the ground and the effects of gravity release can be calculated to sufficient accuracy, so that all adjustments are applied only once on-orbit, without the need of any on-orbit determination of the required corrections. The mission concept is based on the Chandra Observatory, and takes advantage of the technology studies which have taken place over the past fifteen years developing large area, light weight mirrors.

The direct deposition of piezoelectric thin films on thin substrates offers an appealing technology for the realization of lightweight adjustable mirrors capable of sub-arcsecond resolution. This solution will make it possible to realize X-ray telescopes with both large effective area and exceptional angular resolution and, in particular, it will enable the realization of the adjustable optics for the proposed mission Square Meter Arcsecond Resolution X-ray Telescope (SMART-X). In the past years we demonstrated for the first time the possibility of depositing a working piezoelectric thin film (1-5 um) made of lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) on glass. Here we review the recent progress in film deposition and influence function characterization and comparison with finite element models. The suitability of the deposited films is analyzed and some constrains on the piezoelectric film performances are derived. The future steps in the development of the technology are described.

The proposed SMART-X telescope includes adaptive optics systems that use piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films deposited on flexible glass substrates. Several processing constraints are imposed by current designs: the crystallization temperature must be kept below 550 °C, the total stress in the film must be minimized, and the yield on 1 cm² actuator elements should be < 90%. For this work, RF magnetron sputtering was used to deposit films since chemical solution deposition (CSD) led to warping of large area flexible glass substrates. A PZT 52/48 film that wasdeposited at 4 mTorr and annealed at 550 °C for 24 hours showed no detectable levels of either PbO or pyrochlore second phases. Large area electrodes (1cm x 1 cm) were deposited on 4” glass substrates. Initially, the yield of the devices was low, however, two methods were employed to increase the yield to near 100 %. The first method included a more rigorous cleaning to improve the continuity of the Pt bottom electrode. The second method was to apply 3 V DC across the capacitor structure to burn out regions of defective PZT. The result of this latter method essentially removed conducting filaments in the PZT but left the bulk of the material undamaged. By combining these two methods, the yield on the large area electrodes improved from < 10% to nearly 100%.

Grazing-incidence optics for X-ray applications require extremely smooth surfaces with precise mirror figures to provide well focused beams and small image spot sizes for astronomical telescopes and laboratory test facilities. The required precision has traditionally been achieved by time-consuming grinding and polishing of thick substrates with frequent pauses for precise metrology to check the mirror figure. More recently, substrates with high quality surface finish and figures have become available at reasonable cost, and techniques have been developed to mechanically adjust the figure of these traditionally polished substrates for ground-based applications. The beam-bending techniques currently in use are mechanically complex, however, with little control over mid-spatial frequency errors. AOA-Xinetics has been developing been developing techniques for shaping grazing incidence optics with surface-normal and surface-parallel electrostrictive Lead magnesium niobate (PMN) actuators bonded to mirror substrates for several years. These actuators are highly reliable; exhibit little to no hysteresis, aging or creep; and can be closely spaced to correct low and mid-spatial frequency errors in a compact package. In this paper we discuss recent development of adaptive x-ray optics at AOAXinetics.

There is a basic need both in X-ray astronomy and in synchrotron X-ray and neutron beam optics to be able to modify the shape of an optic via an external source of actuation. We describe a technique of shape modification that can be applied to thin walled (∼ 100-400 micron thickness) electroformed replicated optics or glass optics to improve the near net shape of the mirror as well as the mid-frequency (∼ 2-10 mm length scales) ripple. The process involves sputter deposition of a magnetic smart material (MSM) film onto a magnetically hard material (i.e., one that retains a magnetic field, e.g. the material in hard disk drives). The MSM material exhibits strains about 400 times stronger than ordinary ferromagnetic materials. The deformation process involves a magnetic write head which traverses the surface, and under the guidance of active metrology feedback, locally magnetizes the surface to impart strain where needed. We describe the results of our current progress toward our ultimate goal of improving the angular resolution of grazing incidence optics.

This paper will present the procedure of measuring the deformation of the magnetostrictive bimorph specimens under an applied external magnetic field, and the theoretical and numerical analysis of the deformation. The magnetically smart material (MSM) KelvinAll^TM and Terfenol-D is deposited on the nickel or glass substrates. The profiles of thin-film specimens were measured under an external magnetic field with White Light Interferometry. Using the theoretical calculation, the magnetostrictive property was evaluated for the coated Ni sample and glass sample. Employing the numerical approach, the influence of the magnetostrictive film on the deformation of the sample was simulated and compared with experimental results. The coated Ni specimen exhibited larger deformation than the coated glass specimen when the specimen is immersed in a 0.16 T magnetic field. In our experiments, the residual stress calculated in the thin film of the bimorph is acceptable and could be decreased by changing the parameters in the specimen preparation process. The experimental results in this paper was employed as the preliminary step to realize the future application of the magnetostrictive thin film bimorph to the adaptive X-ray mirror, and the theoretical and numerical approach was used to predict the influence of the magnetostrictive film on the larger mirror surface deformation.

The SXO project was a UK based consortium of seven institutions investigating active/adaptive X-ray optics for both large and small scale applications. The emphasis during the SXO work was to develop methods for the integration of thin piezoelectric devices on to the back surface of thin shell X-ray optics. Here we continue from the SXO work and turn our attention to the problem of mounting these optics into a nest of Wolter-I shells using rigid mounting systems. We discuss a possible complete mounting scheme and the constraints and limits of rigid mounting schemes. The design and organisation of the piezoelectric devices on the optic and the ability of the actuators to correct for figure errors in the shells within these schemes is also discussed.

The next generation of large X-ray telescopes with sub-arcsecond resolution will require very thin, highly nested grazing incidence optics. To correct the low order figure errors resulting from initial manufacture, the mounting process, and the effects of going from 1 g during ground alignment to zero g on-orbit, we plan to adjust the shapes via piezoelectric “cells” deposited on the backs of the reflecting surfaces. This presentation investigates how well the corrections might be made. We take a benchmark conical glass element, 410×205 mm, with a 20×20 array of piezoelectric cells 19×9 mm in size. We use finite element analysis to calculate the influence function of each cell. We then simulate the correction via pseudo matrix inversion to calculate the stress to be applied by each cell, considering distortion due to gravity as calculated by finite element analysis, and by putative low order manufacturing distortions described by Legendre polynomials. We describe our algorithm and its performance, and the implications for the sensitivity of the resulting slope errors to the optimization strategy.

Phase reconstructions from a two-dimensional shearing interferometer, based on two orthogonal phase gratings in a single plane, and a Hartmann sensor are compared. Design alternatives for both wavefront sensors are given and simulated performance of both the two-dimensional x-ray shearing interferometer and Hartmann wavefront sensor are presented for two different phase profiles. The first comparison is an evaluation of metrology on DT ice layers in an inertial confinement fusion capsule and the second comparison is a high frequency "asterisk" phase profile. Both of these sensors can measure the two-dimensional wave-front gradient of an x-ray beam, as well as the x-ray absorption. These instruments measure the two-dimensional wave-front gradient in a single measurement and the wavefront sensor is located in a single plane making them much less sensitive to vibrations than most other wavefront sensing techniques.

Deformable mirrors (DMs) have been successfully used in astronomical adaptive optics at visible and near-infrared wavelengths, greatly reducing atmospheric-induced aberrations. Building upon the extensive techniques and methods developed for these applications, we propose to extend this capability to the soft and hard x-ray regime in order to take full advantage of the beam quality characteristic of new facilities such as the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS-II), and the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). Achieving this goal challenges both current mirror manufacturing techniques and wavefront propagation modeling. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), in collaboration with Northrop Grumman AOA Xinetics Inc., is currently developing an x-ray deformable mirror to correct for wave-front aberrations introduced along the beam path of a typical x-ray beamline. To model the expected performance of such a mirror, we have developed a simulation based on the wavefront propagation code PROPER. We will present the current implementation of the software, which models actuation of a deformable mirror and evaluates its effect on wavefront correction.

The Hartmann Sensor is a simple and well-established method to interrogate wavefront quality. Recently the Hartmann sensor has been used at very short wavelengths, including the extreme UV. Here we consider the Hartmann sensor and its ability to measure the wavefront of an x-ray beam. We use both analytic methods and a wave-optics, Fresnel-diffraction simulation. The Hartmann sensor samples the wavefront, which means that it is susceptible to aliasing (the non-linear phenomenon where high-spatial frequency components are incorrectly measured as low-spatial frequency components). Our analysis shows that aliasing is more severe in the Hartmann sensor than in the corresponding (optical) Shack-Hartmann. Aliasing worsens as Hartmann hole size shrinks. The wave-optics simulations show that for reasonable optics-polishing errors and Hartmann mask design, aliasing errors can be of the same magnitude as the phase that is to be measured.