Fabrication of diamond diffraction gratings for experiments with intense hard x-rays

- Transmission type diffraction gratings were fabricated from diamond crystal for high energy x-ray experiments.
- High aspect ratio, nm and μm size diamond structures were achieved using e-beam and reactive ion etcher.
- Structure qualities were confirmed by various experimental measurements using intense, hard x-rays.

The demands on optical components to tolerate high radiation dose and manipulate hard x-ray beams that can fit the experiment requirements, are constantly increasing due to the advancements in the available x-ray sources. Here we have successfully fabricated the transmission type gratings using diamond, with structure sizes ranging from few tens of nanometres up to micrometres, and aspect ratio of up to 20. The efficiencies of the gratings were measured over a wide range of photon energies and their radiation tolerance was confirmed using the most intense x-ray source in the world. The fidelity of these grating structures was confirmed by the quality of the measured experimental results.

163