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将高能X射线（从10 keV到100 keV以上）聚焦到7纳米大小的光斑的设备。 这种能力对于成像、显微断层摄影、材料的元素和结构分析至关重要，并将允许在光谱范围内和目前无法获得的分辨率下成像。这些设备将使科学家能够更好地了解结构和功能之间的相互作用，用于各种应用，包括开发救生药物，为高科技设备创造材料，以及用于一些重要的基础科学目的。那些装置主要用于高端同步辐射设施和X射线显微镜，以及专门的工业和研究环境。这些设备形成了一类特殊的高值消耗品，目前全球市场价值约为700万美元，在不久的将来可能会增加到1400多万美元。这个项目的智力价值有三个方面。首先，创新的制造方法探索和利用原子层沉积（ALD）的最终能力，以实现非常厚的多层膜的纳米级光滑度。与依赖于沉积到线上和切片的相关方法不同，该方法使用ALD将低和高折射率材料的序列存款到批量制造的圆柱形硅前体上，其中良好控制的层厚度从几纳米到几十纳米变化。随后，抛光晶片将在单个晶片上产生具有数百个高价值聚焦装置的膜，从而最大限度地降低每个装置的加工成本。第二，所设想的晶片级处理方法允许对前体进行必要的倾斜控制，这对于线是不可能的，以获得更好的聚焦特性。第三，该方法可扩展到沉积多于两个材料层的序列，这使得能够制造具有单焦点并具有最终衍射效率的阶梯式渐变折射率衍射器件。第一阶段对各个关键工艺进行了鉴定，并证明了它们在完整制造序列中的集成能力，而第二阶段将使用长时间运行的原子层沉积工艺，处理原型的制造和测试以及生产准备，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值进行评估而被认为值得支持和更广泛的影响审查标准。

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.