Project: System for High Accuracy Surface Profiling
Focusing light to nanometric length scales and preserving the high brightness made available by third and fourth generation synchrotron and Free Electron Laser (FEL) sources, which are essential for leading-edge research in many fields such as nano-science, medicine, biology, materials, and chemical science. These sources require significant advances in the quality of reflective EUV, soft X-ray and X-ray optics. These advances are only feasible by improving the metrology used to optimize their fabrication, as well._x000D_The transport and monochromatization of X-ray/EUV light from a high brilliant source to the sample without significant loss of its properties is a challenging task in X-ray optics and requires optical elements of very high accuracy. Those optical elements are wavefront preserving plan or highly focusing mirrors with lengths of up to 1 m characterized by residual slope errors in the range of 50 nrad rms and less than 0.3 nm rms._x000D_Within the project the consortium will be developing a Shack-Hartmann based high accuracy long trace profiler (SH-LTP) for the optical metrology of the above mentioned components. This system will comprise three CO key technological challenges:_x000D_First, a highly precise wavefront sensor with an absolute accuracy of ¿/2000 has to be developed to fulfill the requirements of the targeted optical sensor accuracy._x000D_Second an advanced optical stitching algorithm has to be established, which will enable the system measuring large optical surfaces needed, for example 4th generation X-Ray mirrors._x000D_An optical measurement bench, including the mount and transport capability for the optical head is the third CO component of the research phase. This bench and mount have to be developed for highest tip / tilt accuracy, vibration damping and stable environmental conditions. _x000D_The proposed project will not have only a direct impact on laboratories using x-ray reflective mirrors but in all the companies involved in high quality optic fabrication, due to the availability of this cost effective and economical new SH-LTP system. The development within this project will result in optimized production and fabrication processes by an increased accuracy of more than 10 times of the polished optics. Furthermore the development within this project will open the way to find new processes to achieve the nanoradians specification required for future high precision mirrors._x000D_The key industrial breakthrough in this project is the development of metrology tools, which are able to be coupled with deterministic polishing and deterministic deposition to achieve the nanoradian slope error level by subnanometric surface polishing. Today’s manufacturing techniques allow for figuring arbitrary optical surfaces. The form of these elements can be corrected at the nanometer scale by deterministic polishing or material deposition but this is limited by the accuracy of absolute surface metrology available by the manufacture of modern optical elements. The near future requirements on the surface quality are far beyond the current possibilities. The actual state-of-the-art optical instruments available in optical metrology laboratory do not have adequate sensitivity and do not cover a wide range of spatial frequencies to provide the user with useful information necessary to feedback the polishing process to improve the quality of the optical component. _x000D_Metrology plays a critical role in modern figuring because computer-controlled figuring is performed using the measured surface profiles. Thus, the key point for fabricating elliptically or any kind of curved surfaces is the improvement of the metrology, as the measurement accuracy determines the final figure accuracy of the fabricated mirror._x000D_By summarizing the above described state of the art technologies new surface and form metrology developments are necessary. Thus, the proposed SH-LTP system is dedicated to fulfill exactly that role in future measurement applications, where highest precision over large areas is necessary especially in computer-controlled figuring._x000D_To tackle these big challenges two world leading European companies will work together within this consortium. Each of them has a dedicated knowledge to add in the project, high precision motion mechanics by Q-SYS (Netherlands) and optical metrology excellency by Imagine Optic (France). This collaboration will not only combine world leading technological strength for a successful development of a functioning prototype, but Imagine Optic and Q-SYS will provide a complementary market access, for reaching CO target clients, comprised of Universities, synchrotrons and semiconductor / EUV industries._x000D_
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Acronym
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SHARPeR
(Reference Number: 8304)
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Duration
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01/09/2013 - 31/08/2016
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Project Topic
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This project aims at developing a new high-accuracy automated metrology platform for extremely high quality optical components needed for synchrotrons and for EUV lithography with the objective of speeding up manufacturing at the meter scale with slope error accuracy better than 50 nrad rms.
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Network
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Eurostars
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Call
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Eurostars Cut-Off 10
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Project partner
