This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 9208 including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Introduction, and Conference Committee listing.

A one-dimensional two-stage focusing system using two deformable mirrors was constructed. To realize the precise elliptical shapes, the mirror deformations were finely adjusted using the pencil-beam scan, which is a method of wavefront measurement. X-rays of 10 keV energy were one-dimensionally focused to a full width at half maximum of 90 nm, which agrees well with the diffraction limit.

The SQS scientific instrument at the European XFEL is dedicated to investigations in the soft X-rays regime, in particular to studies of non-linear and ultrafast processes in atoms, molecules and clusters using a variety of spectroscopic techniques. It will be equipped with a Kirkpatrick-Baez (KB) adaptive mirror system enabling submicron focusing and access to variable focal distances. In this paper we describe the conceptual design of the beam transport and focusing layout based on the KB system. The design includes a study of feasibility based on the comparison between the required source and image positions and the theoretical limits for the accessible mirror profiles.

FERMI is the first seeded EUV-SXR free electron laser (FEL) user facility operated at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste. Two of the three already operating beamlines, namely LDM (Low DensityMatter) and DiProI (Diffraction and Projection Imaging), use a Kirkpatrick-Baez (K-B) active X-ray optics system for focusing the FEL pulses onto the target under investigation. The present work reports on the final results obtained from the optimization of the K-B optical system at the DiProI endstation. The aim of the optimization is to improve the system performances in terms of quality and size of the focal spot onto the sample, controlling the fluence as well. To characterize the performances and develop reliable and reproducible focusing procedures we performed a campaign of measurements with several diagnostic systems, including a wavefront sensor mounted after the DiProI chamber. Online wavefront measurements have made possible the optimization of the bending acting on the mirror curvature and of the (pitch and roll) angle positions of the K-B system. From the wavefront measurements we have inferred a focal spot of 8 μm x 9.5 μm, confirmed by the PMMA ablation imprints. The experimental results are compared with the predictions from simulations obtained using the WISE code, starting from the characterization of the actual mirror surface metrology. The results from simulations are in agreement with the experimental measurements. Filtering the Fourier transform of the mirror surface profiles, using the WISE code we have analyzed the impact of different spatial wavelengths on the focal spot degradation. For different energies of the incident beam we established the threshold where the focal spot degradation is no longer affected by the spatial wavelengths of the K-B mirror surfaces. In the very last period we were starting to observe a degradation of the focal spot. After a metrology analysis we concluded that the problem was due to a failure of the substrate material. We temporally solved the problem checking the mounting, but we have planned an improvement of the material for the future.

The future of x-ray astronomy depends upon development of x-ray telescopes with larger aperture areas (≈ 3 m²) and fine angular resolution (≈ 1″). Combined with the special requirements of nested grazing-incidence optics, the mass and envelope constraints of space-borne telescopes render such advances technologically and programmatically challenging. Achieving this goal will require precision fabrication, alignment, mounting, and assembly of large areas (≈ 600 m²) of lightweight (≈ 1 kg/m² areal density) high-quality mirrors at an acceptable cost (≈ 1 M$/m² of mirror surface area). This paper reviews relevant technological and programmatic issues, as well as possible approaches for addressing these issues—including active (in-space adjustable) alignment and figure correction.

Addressing the astrophysical problems of the 2020’s requires sub-arcsecond x-ray imaging with square meter effective area. Such requirements can be derived, for example, by considering deep x-ray surveys to find the young black holes in the early universe (large redshifts) which will grow into the first super-massive black holes. We have envisioned a mission, the Square Meter Arcsecond Resolution Telescope for X-rays (SMART-X), based on adjustable x-ray optics technology, incorporating mirrors with the required small ratio of mass to collecting area. We are pursuing technology which achieves sub-arcsecond resolution by on-orbit adjustment via thin film piezoelectric “cells” deposited directly on the non-reflecting sides of thin, slumped glass. While SMART-X will also incorporate state-of-the-art x-ray cameras, the remaining spacecraft systems have no requirements more stringent than those which are well understood and proven on the current Chandra X-ray Observatory.

We describe progress in the development of adjustable grazing incidence X-ray optics for 0.5 arcsec resolution cosmic X-ray imaging. To date, no optics technology is available to blend high resolution imaging like the Chandra X-ray Observatory, with square meter collecting area. Our approach to achieve these goals simultaneously is to directly deposit thin film piezoelectric actuators on the back surface of thin, lightweight Wolter-I or Wolter- Schwarschild mirror segments. The actuators are used to correct mirror figure errors due to fabrication, mounting and alignment, using calibration and a one-time figure adjustment on the ground. If necessary, it will also be possible to correct for residual gravity release and thermal effects on-orbit. In this paper we discuss our most recent results measuring influence functions of the piezoelectric actuators using a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. We describe accelerated and real-time lifetime testing of the piezoelectric material, and we also discuss changes to, and recent results of, our simulations of mirror correction.

This report begins with a review of the basic concept of deformable X-ray optics, and the need for this approach for future X-ray astronomy missions that have ~1” resolution. We then report on our advances made on using magnetic smart materials (MSMs) to adjust the shape of thin (~100-200 µm thickness) electroformed replicated optics or glass optics. We show that we can well model deflections in 5 mm x 20 mm glass pieces and we provide preliminary evidence that the concept will work that involves imposing a magnetic field on the hard magnetic substrate (NiCo) to maintain the change in mirror shape.

The proposed SMART-X telescope consists of a pixelated array of a piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin film deposited on flexible glass substrates. These cells or pixels are used to actively control the overall shape of the mirror surface. It is anticipated that the telescope will consist of 8,000 mirror panels with 400-800 cells on each panel. This creates an enormous number (6.4 million) of traces and contacts needed to address the PZT. In order to simplify the design, a row/column addressing scheme using ZnO thin film transistors (TFTs) is proposed. In addition, connection of the gate and drain lines on the mirror segment to an external supply via a flexible cable was investigated through use of an anisotropic conductive film (ACF). This paper outlines the design of the ZnO TFTs, use of ACF for bonding, and describes a specially designed electronics box with associated software to address the desired cells.

Optics for future X-ray telescopes will be characterized by very large aperture and focal length, and will be made of lightweight materials like glass or plastic in order to keep the total mass within acceptable limits. Optics based on thin slumped glass foils are currently in use in the NuSTAR telescope and are being developed at various institutes like INAF/OAB, aiming at improving the angular resolution to a few arcsec HEW. Another possibility would be the use of thin plastic foils, being developed at SAO and the Palermo University. Even if relevant progresses in the achieved angular resolution were recently made, a viable possibility to further improve the mirror figure would be the application of piezoelectric actuators onto the non-optical side of the mirrors. In fact, thin mirrors are prone to deform, so they require a careful integration to avoid deformations and even correct forming errors. This however offers the possibility to actively correct the residual deformation. Even if other groups are already at work on this idea, we are pursuing the concept of active integration of thin glass or plastic foils with piezoelectric patches, fed by voltages driven by the feedback provided by X-rays, in intra-focal setup at the XACT facility at INAF/OAPA. In this work, we show the preliminary simulations and the first steps taken in this project.

X-ray telescopes use grazing incidence mirrors to focus X-ray photons from celestial objects. To achieve the large collecting areas required to image faint sources, thousands of thin, doubly curved mirrors are arranged in nested cylindrical shells to approximate a filled aperture. These mirrors require extremely smooth surfaces with precise figures to provide well-focused beams and small image spot sizes. The Generation-X telescope proposed by SAO would have a 12-meter aperture, a 50 m² collecting area and 0.1 arc-second spatial resolution. This resolution would be obtained by actively controlling the mirror figure with piezoelectric actuators deposited on the back of each 0.4 mm thick mirror segment. To support SAO’s Generation-X study, Northrop Grumman used internal funds to look at the feasibility of using Xinetics deformable mirror technologies to meet the Generation-X requirements. We designed and fabricated two 10 x 30 cm Platinum-coated silicon mirrors with 108 surface-parallel electrostrictive Lead Magnesium Niobate (PMN) actuators bonded to the mirror substrates. These mirrors were tested at optical wavelengths by Xinetics to assess the actuator’s performance, but no funds were available for X-ray tests. In 2013, after receiving an invitation to evaluate the mirror’s performance at Argonne National Laboratory, the mirrors were taken out of storage, refurbished, retested at Xinetics and transported to ANL for metrology measurements with a Long Trace Profilometer, a Fizeau laser interferometer, and X-ray tests. This paper describes the development and testing of the adaptive x-ray mirrors at AOAXinetics. Marathe, et al, will present the results of the tests at Argonne.

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.

AOA-Xinetics has 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 the design and fabrication of a 45cm grazing incidence mirror fitted with 45 PMN actuators and integral strain gauges and temperature sensors that allow sub-nanometer control of the surface figure.

Our 45-cm long x-ray deformable mirror has 45 actuators along the tangential axis, along with one strain gauge per actuator and eight temperature sensors. We discuss the detailed calibration of the mirror's figure response to voltage (fourth-order) and the strain gauges' response to figure changes (linear). The mirror's cylinder shape changes with temperature, which can be tracked with the temperature sensors. We present initial results of measuring figure change with the strain gauges, which works very well for large changes (> 10 nm peak-to- valley), but is noisy with a single strain reading for small changes (5 nm peak-to-valley).

Grazing incidence mirrors are now a standard optic for focusing X-ray beams. Both bimorph and mechanically bendable mirrors are widely used at Diamond Light Source because they permit a wide choice of focal lengths. They can also be deliberately set out of focus to enlarge the X-ray beam, and indeed many beamline teams now wish to generate uniform beam spots of variable size. However, progress has been slowed by the appearance of fine structure in these defocused beams. Measurements showing the relationship between the medium-frequency polishing error and this structure over a variety of beam sizes will be presented. A theoretical model for the simulations of defocused beams from general mirrors will then be developed. Not only the figure error and its first derivative the slope error, but also the second derivative, the curvature error, must be considered. In conclusion, possible ways to reduce the defocused beam structure by varying the actuators' configuration and settings will be discussed.

As part of ongoing development efforts at MSFC, we have begun to investigate mounting strategies for highly nested xray optics in both full-shell and segmented configurations. The analytical infrastructure for this effort also lends itself to investigation of active strategies. We expect that a consequence of active figure control on relatively thin substrates is that errors are propagated to the edges, where they might affect the effective precision of the mounting points. Based upon modeling, we describe parametrically, the conditions under which active mounts are preferred over fixed ones, and the effect of active figure corrections on the required number, locations, and kinematic characteristics of mounting points.

Adaptive x-ray optics are more and more used in synchrotron beamlines, and it is probable that they will be considered for the future high-power free-electron laser sources, as the European XFEL now under construction in Hamburg, or similar projects now in discussion. These facilities will deliver a high power x-ray beam, with an expected high heat load delivered on the optics. For this reason, bendable mirrors are required to actively compensate the resulting wavefront distortion. On top of that, the mirror could have also intrinsic surface defects, as polishing errors or mounting stresses. In order to be able to correct the mirror surface with a high precision to maintain its challenging requirements, the mirror surface is usually characterized with a high accuracy metrology to calculate the actuators pulse functions and to assess its initial shape. After that, singular value decomposition (SVD) is used to find the signals to be applied into the actuators, to reach the desired surface deformation or correction. But in some cases this approach could be not robust enough for the needed performance. We present here a comparison between the classical SVD method and an error function minimization based on root-mean-square calculation. Some examples are provided, using a simulation of the European XFEL mirrors design as a case of study, and performances of the algorithms are evaluated in order to reach the ultimate quality in different scenarios. The approach could be easily generalized to other situations as well.

The possibility to obtain micrometric focal spot in the extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) region opens the way to XUV-XUV experiments in high-order harmonics beamlines. A beamline designed for this purpose is here presented. The peculiarity of the optical design relies on the use of only toroidal mirrors in place of the more expensive Cartesian optics. The coma aberration, usually dominating the quality of the focal spot when toroidal mirrors are used with high levels of demagnification, is compensated using mirrors in a subtractive (Z-shape) configuration. In addition, the compensating output mirror decouples the length of the exit arm from the de-magnification factor, in this way the length of the exit arm can be increased to install even a large experimental chamber. Three mirrors with optical power are required, in order to assure an optimal focalization. In order to guarantee a day-to-day reproducible working condition, the mirrors are mounted on remotely adjustable optical stages, that are controlled via a genetic algorithm with the feedback on the quality of the focal spot. This solution helps the users to reach the best focalization conditions in a reliable way. The results obtained during the beamline commissioning phase are presented. Emphasis is placed in the characterization of the spot size and in the performances of the genetic algorithm.