New Scientific Opportunities at the European Synchrotron Radiation ...

European Synchrotron Radiation Facility Long-Term Strategy 7 July 2006
• Development of a surface finishing device (Ion Beam Figuring) coupled to in situ
X-ray metrology. This technology will allow the correction of optical surfaces with
figure errors below the µrad level and is therefore mandatory for nano-focusing KB
optics. The feasibility of this concept has been demonstrated by the prototype
machine under development.
• Development of coherence preserving optics operating under high heat load and
radiation impact of the white beam. Both crystal and multilayer based optical
elements and related cooling schemes have to be optimised to maintain the wave
front quality. Diamond crystals will play an essential role for these applications.
Their improvement will have to be pushed in collaboration with industrial partners.
This project requires access to a dedicated insertion device test beamline.
• Collaborative development and fabrication of transmission optics (compound
refractive lenses, Fresnel zone plates, waveguides, etc.). So far, these devices
were purchased or obtained through individual collaborations with external
institutes. Direct access to the development of such elements could be made by
the installation of a dedicated facility as an integral part of a European Nano-
Science Centre.
• Development of theoretical tools describing diffraction limited X-ray optical
systems. Theories and codes based on wave propagation will be necessary to
provide the basis for design and fabrication.
• Development and upgrade of metrology tools. These are essential to analyse the
results of the fabrication processes and to improve them, to study the influence of
mounting and bending crystals, mirrors and multilayers, to position optical
elements in the beam and to detect vibrations and/or thermal degradations. Ex situ
evaluations will use upgraded instruments in the ESRF optical metrology
laboratory. In situ studies will be carried out at the Optics Beamline BM05
whenever possible, otherwise, according to present plans, using the undulator
source beamtime that will become available on ID06 for optics tests.
It has to be stressed that the above items are strongly interlinked. The overall budget
envelope is difficult to estimate since part of the projects will crucially depend on the
active participation of external European partners.
4.4.3 Nano-manipulation
The characterisation of samples at the nanometre scale will play a central role in
science, raising new problems and new challenges. One of the major difficulties to be
overcome will be the recognition and handling of the samples and their manipulation
and modification in real time. These problems are at the limits of optical microscopy,
while electron microscopy can electrically charge the samples. Pre-alignment could
become a very cumbersome operation, while the analysis of free standing samples
will be hindered by the electrical charging problems induced by the X-rays. It is
necessary, therefore, to envisage a new approach to manipulation and operation at
the nano-scale. Scanning Probe Microscopes (SPM) are extensively used in nanotechnology
to see and manipulate samples of nanometric size, but their application in
real time under X-ray beams is just beginning. Nevertheless the reduced size of
SPMs and their limited cost makes them ideal for use on SR beamlines, providing
new tools for visualising, positioning and manipulating nano-samples.
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