NFFA-Europe Pilot - D12.1 - Fabrication of hard X-ray aberration correctors

We report on the fabrication of hard X-ray aberration correctors to improve the performance of nanofocusing X-ray lenses by correcting the shape deviations that arise due to fluctuations and anisotropies during the manufacture of X-ray optics. After carefully characterizing the aberrations of the focusing X-ray lens, the tailored profile of a correction phase plate can be inferred. In this deliverable, we have developed the micro and nanofabrication processes for the production of the refractive phase plates by two-photon polymerization based 3D printing. The refractive phase plate is made of polymer, which introduces the required phase shift corrections while hardly introducing any extra absorption. The process parameters have been optimized to obtain the tailored aberration correction profiles. The refractive phase plates have been produced on multiple substrates such as silicon, silicon nitride and diamond membranes and they can be fabricated reliably and on-demand. The methods and procedures to easily align the
focusing optics and the refractive phase plate are currently under development.