Focal Spot and Wavefront Sensing of an X-Ray Free Electron laser using Ronchi shearing interferometry

Sci Rep. 2017 Oct 20;7(1):13698. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-13710-8.

Abstract

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is an X-ray source of unmatched brilliance, that is advancing many scientific fields at a rapid pace. The highest peak intensities that are routinely produced at LCLS take place at the Coherent X-ray Imaging (CXI) instrument, which can produce spotsize at the order of 100 nm, and such spotsizes and intensities are crucial for experiments ranging from coherent diffractive imaging, non-linear x-ray optics and high field physics, and single molecule imaging. Nevertheless, a full characterisation of this beam has up to now not been performed. In this paper we for the first time characterise this nanofocused beam in both phase and intensity using a Ronchi Shearing Interferometric technique. The method is fast, in-situ, uses a straightforward optimization algoritm, and is insensitive to spatial jitter.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't