SBIR Phase II: X-Ray Focusing Device for 20-100 keV Photon Energies

这个小型企业创新研究第二阶段项目的目标是制造能够聚焦高能(从10keV到100keV以上)X射线到小至7纳米的光斑的设备。这一能力对材料的成像、显微断层成像以及元素和结构分析至关重要，并将允许在目前无法获得的光谱范围和分辨率下进行成像。这些设备将使科学家能够更好地想象结构和功能在各种应用中的相互作用，包括开发救命药物，为高科技设备创造材料，以及一些重要的基础科学目的。那些设备？主要用途将是高端同步辐射设施和专门的工业和研究环境中的X射线显微镜。这些设备形成了一类特殊的高价值消费品，满足了目前价值约700万美元的全球细分市场，并有可能在不久的将来增加到1400万美元以上。这个项目的智力价值有三个方面。首先，这种创新的制造方法探索和利用了原子层沉积(ALD)的极限能力，可以在超厚的多层薄膜中实现纳米级的平滑。与依赖于线上沉积和切片的相关方法不同，这种方法使用ALD将低折射率和高折射率材料的序列沉积到批量制造的圆柱形硅前驱体上，层厚得到很好的控制，从几纳米到几十纳米不等。随后，抛光晶片将在一个晶片上产生数百个高价值聚焦装置的薄膜，从而将每个装置的加工成本降至最低。其次，设想的晶片级处理方法允许对前驱体进行必要的倾斜控制，这在导线上是不可能的，以获得更好的聚焦性能。第三，该方法可扩展到两个以上材料层的沉积序列，从而能够制造具有单焦点且具有最终衍射效率的阶梯式折射率衍射器件。第一阶段对各个关键工艺进行鉴定，并证明其集成到完整的制造序列中的能力，而第二阶段将处理原型的制造和测试以及生产准备，这是功能设备所必需的，使用长时间的原子层沉积工艺。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project targets the fabrication of devices capable of focusing X-rays with high energy (from 10 keV to above 100 keV) to spot sizes as small as 7 nanometers. This capability is critical for imaging, microtomography, and elemental and structural analyses of materials and will permit imaging in spectral ranges and at resolutions unavailable today. These devices will enable scientists to better image the interplay of structure and functionality for a wide variety of applications, including the development of life-saving drugs, the creation of materials for high-tech devices, and for a number of important basic scientific purposes. The devices? primary use will be in high-end synchrotron radiation facilities and in X-ray microscopes with in specialized industrial and research environments. These devices form a special class of high-value consumables, addressing a global market segment worth about $7 million today with the potential to increase to more than $14 million in the near future. The intellectual merit of this project is threefold. First, the innovative method of fabrication explores and exploits the ultimate capability of atomic layer deposition (ALD) for achieving nanometer-scale smoothness in very thick, multilayer films. Unlike related methods that rely on deposition onto wires and slicing, this method uses ALD to deposit sequences of low and high refractive index materials onto batch-fabricated cylindrical silicon precursors, with well-controlled layer thicknesses varying from a few nanometers to tens of nanometers. Subsequently, polishing the wafer will yield membranes with hundreds of high-value focusing devices on a single wafer, minimizing the processing costs per device. Second, the envisioned wafer-level processing method allows for a necessary tilt control of the precursors, not possible with wires, for better focusing properties. Third, the method is extendable towards depositing sequences of more-than-two material layers, which enables the fabrication of step-wise graded index diffractive devices with single foci and featuring ultimate diffraction efficiency. Phase I qualified the individual key processes and proved their integration capability into a complete fabrication sequence, while Phase II will deal with the fabrication and testing of prototypes and preparation for production, using long runs of atomic layer deposition processes, as is necessary for functional devices.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.