Generation of an X-ray nanobeam of a free-electron laser using reflective optics with speckle interferometry

Ultimate focusing of an X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) enables the generation of ultrahigh-intensity X-ray pulses. Although sub-10   nm focusing has already been achieved using synchrotron light sources, the sub-10   nm focusing of XFEL beams remains difficult mainly because the insufficient stability of the light source hinders the evaluation of a focused beam profile. This problem is specifically disadvantageous for the Kirkpatrick – Baez (KB) mirror focusing system, in which a slight misalignment of ∼ 300   nrad can degrade the   focused beam. In this work, an X-ray nanobeam of a free-electron laser was   generated using reflective KB focusing optics combined with speckle interferometry. The speckle profiles generated by 2   nm platinum particles were systematically investigated on a single-shot basis by changing the alignment of the multilayer KB mirror system installed at the SPring-8 Angstrom Compact Free-Electron Laser, in combination with computer simulations. It was verified that the KB mirror alignments were optimized with the required accuracy, and a focused vertical beam of 5.8   nm ( ± 1.2   nm) was achieved after optimization. The speckle interferometry reported in this study is expected to be an effective tool for optimizing the alignment of nano-focusing systems and for generating an unprecedented intensity of up to 1022   W   cm − 2 using XFEL sources.
Source: Journal of Synchrotron Radiation - Category: Physics Authors: Tags: X-ray free-electron laser speckle interferometer multilayer KB mirror beam diagnosis nano-focusing research papers Source Type: research