The adaptive x-ray optic project at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Abstract

Deformable mirrors (DMs) have been successfully used in astronomical adaptive optics at near-infrared wavelengths, greatly reducing atmospheric-induced aberrations [1]. Extending this capability to the soft and hard x-ray regime is now required in order to take full advantage of the beam quality characteristic of new generation synchrotron facilities and X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs). Achieving this goal challenges both current mirror manufacturing techniques and physical optics modeling. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is currently developing an x-ray DM to correct wavefront aberrations introduced along the beam path of a typical x-ray beam-line [2]. To model the expected performance of such a mirror, we have also developed simulation code based on the wavefront propagation library of functions PROPER [3]. Here we present the current status of the project, including metrology done on the mirror substrate. Additionally we report on results from our wavefront simulation code, which have proven very useful in predicting technical aspects of mirror deployment at a typical x-ray facility.