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Laboratory for X-ray Nanoscience and Technologies (LXN)

  • About LXN
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    • X-ray Nano-Optics Expanded submenu item
      • X-ray Optics for Imaging and Spectroscopy
        • Fresnel Zone Plate for X-ray Microscopy
        • Blazed X-ray Optics
        • Zernike X-ray Phase Contrast Microscopy
        • Fresnel Zone Plates for RIXS
        • Refractive Lenses by 2 Photon 3D Lithography
      • Wavefront Metrology and Manipulation
        • Vortex Fresnel Zone Plates
        • Grating-based Wavefront Metrology
      • X-ray Optics for XFELs
        • Diamond Fresnel Zone Plates
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        • A Delay Line for Ultrafast Pump-Probe Experiments
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XRO start.jpg

X-ray Nano-Optics


Research Topics

  • X-ray Optics for Imaging and Spectroscopy
  • Wavefront Metrology and Manipulation
  • X-ray Optics for XFELs

The X-ray Nano-Optics group of LXN works on various fields of research involving the control of x-rays with ultimate precision. We develop instrumentation for large scale facilities such as synchrotrons and x-ray free electron lasers (XFELs), by applying nanolithography techniques. This includes x-ray diffractive optics such as Fresnel zone plate lenses for imaging and probing of matter on a micro- and nanometer scale. Our optics are used at many synchrotron beam lines worldwide and hold the resolution record in x-ray microscopy. For applications that do not require ultimate resolution, we pursue novel approaches to obtain very high diffraction efficiencies.

Interferometric imaging techniques using hard x-rays also rely on specialized micro-fabricated gratings. The possibility to use this technique not only with synchrotron radiation but also with incoherent x-rays from tube sources makes the technique interesting for commercial applications. The extreme sensitivity of grating interferometry also provides a powerful tool for x-ray optics metrology and wavefront sensing.

The development of a new generation of x-ray sources based on the x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) principle have triggered the development of specialized diffractive optics. In order to withstand the extreme power levels of XFELs, we make Fresnel zone plates based on diamond substrates. Similar devices are made for applications such as spectral monitoring or beam splitting. The latter is used to build multiple split-and-delay lines for ultra-fast pump-probe experiments with unprecedented timing precision.

For the fabrication of these devices, the X-Ray Optics and Applications Group runs LMN’s high performance electron-beam lithography tool Vistec EBPG 5000PlusES, that is also used by many other internal and external research groups.


Publications

For full list of Publications of the X-ray Optics and Applications group (since 2005) see: DORA


Highlights

14 March 2022
SLS

Novel X-ray lens facilitates glimpse into the nanoworld

Media Releases Research Using Synchrotron Light Future Technologies Industrial co-operation

PSI develops a revolutionary achromatic lens for X-rays.

Read more
2 November 2021
diamond_grantings_teaser

Diamond gratings for XFEL amplitude-splitting delay line

A split-and-delay line for XFEL pulses has been built and successfully tested by a team of researchers at the Linac Coherent Light Source. Key X-ray optical elements are two diamond diffraction gratings made at the Paul Scherrer Institut that are used to split and later recombine the intense ultrashort X-ray laser pulses for time-resolved measurements.

Read more
9 November 2020
High-resolution X-ray microscopy of a test pattern with 9 nm line width

World Record: 7 nm Resolution in Scanning Soft X-ray Microscopy

During the past decade, scientists have put high effort to achieve sub-10 nm resolution in X-ray microscopy. Recent developments in high-resolution lithography-based diffractive optics, combined with the extreme stability and precision of the PolLux and HERMES scanning X-ray microscopes, resulted now in a so far unreached resolution of seven nanometers in scanning soft X-ray microscopy. Utilizing this highly precise microscopy technique with the X-ray magnetic circular dichroism effect, dimensionality effects in an ensemble of interacting magnetic nanoparticles can be revealed.

Read more
30 September 2020
Two-color, twin-focus zone plate

Two-color snapshots of ultrafast charge and spin dynamics

In a joint research effort, an international team of scientists lead by Emmanuelle Jal (Sorbonne Université) performed a time-resolved experiment at the FERMI free-electron laser to disclose the dynamic behavior of two magnetic element of a compount material in only one snapshot. The X-ray Optics and Applications group developed a dedicated optical element for this experiment that is usable with two different photon energies (colors) simultaneously.

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20 August 2020
OAM Imprinting on He Atoms

Photoelectric Effect with a Twist

In a joint research effort, an international team of scientists lead by Prof. Giovanni de Ninno (University of Nova Gorica, Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste) now demonstrated that an OAM-dependent dichroic effect can be observed on photoelectrons. The photoelectrons are released from a sample of He atoms that is excited by the strong extreme ultraviolet light pulses from the FERMI free electron laser, whereas the orbtial momentum is imprinted with an intense infrared laser pulse. The X-ray Optics and Applications group of PSI supported the team with their experience in the creation of OAM beams and during the experiments.

Read more
14 August 2020
Novel Optics

Novel optics enable better X-ray Free Electron Laser experiments

Our research on multifocus off-axis zone plates was accepted in “Optica”, the highest impact journal of the Optical Society of America. In the paper we report on different ways to combine focusing and beam-splitting functionalities in one single optical element.

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16 December 2019
logo of xraynanotech

Florian Döring received the PSI Founder Fellowship

A new PSI spin-off is on the horizon: Dr. Florian Döring, PostDoc in the Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology, received a PSI Founder Fellowship at Park Innovaare.

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6 December 2018
MIS 7018.jpg

2018 Innovation Award on Synchrotron Radiation

The Innovation Award on Synchrotron Radiation 2018 went to Dr. Christian David from the Paul Scherrer Institute, and to Prof. Alexei Erko, who recently moved from the HZB to the Institute for Applied Photonics (IAP) in Berlin-Adlershof.

Read more
2 October 2018

Demonstration of femtosecond X-ray pump X-ray probe diffraction on protein crystals

Our experiments, published in the September issue of Structural Dynamics, demonstrate the feasibility of time-resolved pump-multiprobe X-ray diffraction experiments on protein crystals using a split-and-delay setup which was temporarily installed at the LCLS X-ray Free Electron Laser.

Read more

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Contact

Dr. Christian David

Laboratory for X-ray Nano-Optics
Paul Scherrer Institut
5232 Villigen PSI
Switzerland

Telephone: +41 56 310 37 53
E-mail: christian.david@psi.ch


Our Industrial Partner

XRnanotech_WhiteSpace
www.xrnanotech.ch

The leading Swiss manufacturer of highest-quality X-ray optics from high-aspect-ratio Fresnel zone plates with record-breaking resolution to ultra-stable diamond optics and custom 3D-nanostructures for a wide range of X-ray applications

XRnanotech GmbH
Forschungsstrasse 111
ODRA 105
CH-5232 Villigen PSI

Telephone: +41 56310 5597
E-mail: info@xrnanotech.ch

Follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/xrnanotech/

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