Mirrors, gratings and a monochromator for use with synchrotron radiation

Abstract

Silicon carbide is highly resistant to synchrotron-induced radiation damage. Manufacturing processes yield products with widely differing microstructures, including two-phase silicon carbide/silicon materials. All the varieties which have been examined demostrate a high level of polishability. The two-phase materials are made with different grain sizes - that with the smaller grain size is available in lengths up to 1 m and can be lapped and polished to yield surfaces smooth to a few tenths of a nm. Differential polishing effects are visible in the large grain size material which can be produced in lengths exceeding 2 m. Developments in X-ray grating technology include the manufacture of gratings in single phase (CVD) silicon carbide, production of near theoretical efficiency gratings of fine pitch (3600 lines per mm) and the development of facilities for producing gratings up to 250 mm square. A theoretical analysis of a new toroidal grazing incidence monochromator has demonstrated its capability of resolving 0.3 eV over a wavelength range of 6–80 nm.