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Department Precision Gratings

Gratings for Science

The aim of the working group "Precision Gratings" is to provide diffraction gratings for scientific applications. The focus is on soft X-ray gratings for monochromators of beamlines and spectrometers.

The working group is equipped with the technical infrastructure necessary for the production of soft X-ray reflection gratings, both blazed gratings and laminar gratings.

Ensure availability

HZB was able to build capacity for the production of diffraction gratings for applications at synchrotron radiation sources by means of project funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Since 2013, it is possible to manufacture both laminar and blazed diffraction gratings. This was a great success of the ERDF project and ensures the availability of optical gratings for soft X-ray beamlines and instruments. HZB projects such as the Energy Materials in-situ Laboratory (EMIL) at the photon source BESSY II benefit from application-specific gratings that can be manufactured in close coordination with the group.

Quality

The quality of experiments using sychrotron radiation is influenced by the optical quality of the diffraction grating. In turn, the optical quality of the diffraction grating is influenced by the quality of the manufacturing processes. Therefore, the working group can make a big difference between good and poor gratings by focusing on the quality and reliability of processes and individual production steps. It is implementing a continuous improvement process in order to achieve stable production conditions, optimized processes and a reduction of rework efforts.

Each grating is a project

Application-specific production, limited budget, time constraints: these are the prerequisites for a project-oriented manufacturing. Both internal and external projects can expect the working group being integrated into the project structure. In preparation of projects the specifications are being iterated between the demands of the customer and the technical capabilities of the grating production. The result is a specification sheet of a realizable, application-tailored grating. The entire duration of several months for the production of diffraction gratings is divided into phases with corresponding milestones. Progress reports inform the customer to obtain planning reliability during the project.