In this work, we investigate the effect of air convection on laser-beam pointing noise essential for the long trace profiler (LTP). We describe this pointing error with noise power density (NPD) frequency distributions. It is shown that the NPD spectra due to air convection have a very characteristic form. In the range of frequencies from ~;0.05 Hz to ~;0.5 Hz, the spectra can be modeled with an inverse-power-law function. Depending on the intensity of air convection that is controlled with a resistive heater of 100 to 150 mW along a one-meter-long optical path, the power index lies between 2 and 3 at an overall rms noise of ~;0.5 to 1 microradian. The efficiency of suppression of the convection noise by blowing air across the beam optical path is also discussed. Air-blowing leads to a white-noise-like spectrum. Air blowing was applied to the reference channel of an LTP allowing demonstration of the contribution of air convection noise to the LTP reference beam. The ability to change (with the blowing technique presented) the spectral characteristics of the beam pointing noise due to air convection allows one to investigate the contribution of the convection effect, and thus make corrections to the power spectral density spectra measured with the LTP.

We have used polished stainless steel as a mirror substrate to provide focusing of soft x-rays in grazing incidence reflection. The substrate is bent to an elliptical shape with large curvature and high stresses in the substrate require a strong elastic material. Conventional material choices of silicon or of glass will not withstand the stress required. The use of steel allows the substrates to be polished and installed flat, using screws in tapped holes. The ultra-high-vacuum bender mechanism is motorized and computer controlled. These mirrors are used to deliver focused beams of soft x-rays onto the surface of a sample for experiments at the Advanced Light Source (ALS). They provide an illumination field that can be as small as the mirror demagnification allows, for localized study, and can be enlarged, under computer control, for survey measurements over areas of the surface up to several millimeters. The critical issue of the quality of the steel surface, polished and coated with gold, which limits the minimum achievable focused spot size is discussed in detail. Comparison is made to a polished, gold coated, electroless nickel surface, which provides a smoother finish. Surface measurements are presented as power spectral densities, as a function of spatial frequency. The surface height distributions measured with an interferometric microscope, and complemented by atomic force microscope measurements, are used to compute power spectral densities and then to evaluate the surface roughness. The effects of roughness in reducing the specular reflectivity are verified by soft x-ray measurements.

The consistency of different instruments and methods for measuring two-dimensional (2D) power spectral density (PSD) distributions are investigated. The instruments are an interferometric microscope, an atomic force microscope (AFM) and the X-ray Reflectivity and Scattering experimental facility, all available at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The measurements were performed with a gold-coated mirror with a highly polished stainless steel substrate. It was shown that these three techniques provide essentially consistent results. For the stainless steel mirror, an envelope over all measured PSD distributions can be described with an inverse power-law PSD function. It is also shown that the measurements can be corrected for the specific spatial frequency dependent systematic errors of the instruments. The AFM and the X-ray scattering measurements were used to determine the modulation transfer function of the interferometric microscope. The corresponding correction procedure is discussed in detail. Lower frequency investigation of the 2D PSD distribution was also performed with a long trace profiler and a ZYGO GPI interferometer. These measurements are in some contradiction, suggesting that the reliability of the measurements has to be confirmed with additional investigation. Based on the crosscheck of the performance of all used methods, we discuss the ways for improving the 2D PSD characterization of X-ray optics.

The next generation of synchrotrons and free electron lasers requires x-ray optical systems with extremely high-performance, generally, of diffraction limited quality. Fabrication and use of such optics requires highly accurate metrology. In the present paper, we discuss a way to improve the performance of the Long Trace Profiler (LTP), a slope measuring instrument widely used at synchrotron facilities to characterize x-ray optics at high-spatial-wavelengths from approximately 2 mm to 1 m. One of the major sources of LTP systematic error is the detector. For optimal functionality, the detector has to possess the smallest possible pixel size/spacing, a fast method of shuttering, and minimal non-uniformity of pixel-to-pixel photoresponse. While the first two requirements are determined by choice of detector, the non-uniformity of photoresponse of typical detectors such as CCD cameras is around 2-3 percent. We describe a flat-field calibration setup specially developed for calibration of CCD camera photo-response and dark current with an accuracy of better than 0.5 percent. Such accuracy is adequate for use of a camera as a detector for an LTP with performance of ~;0.1 microradian (rms). We also present the design details of the calibration system and results of calibration of a DALSA CCD camera used for upgrading our LTP-II instrument at the ALS Optical Metrology Laboratory.