Ion beam lithography for direct patterning of high accuracy large area X-ray elements in gold on membranes

► We use IBL to fabricate zone plates in 500 nm gold on silicon nitride membranes. ► The zone plate's diameter is 100 μm with 100 nm outermost zone width. ► The desired accuracy requires a 15 h process with automatic drift compensation. ► We analyze the quality of the zones by SEM imaging and cross sectioning. ► Lens functionality is proven by first X-ray measurements.