Short focal length Kirkpatrick-Baez mirrors for a hard x-ray nanoprobe

We describe progress in the fabrication of short-focal-length total-external-reflection Kirkpatrick-Baez x-ray mirrors with ultralow figure errors. The short focal length optics produce nanoscale beams (< 100 nm) on conventional (similar to 64 m long) beamlines at third generation synchrotron sources. The total-external reflection optics are inherently achromatic and efficiently focus a white (polychromatic) or a tunable monochromatic spectrum of x rays. The ability to focus independent of wavelength allows novel new experimental capabilities. Mirrors have been fabricated both by computer assisted profiling (differential polishing) and by profile coating (coating through a mask onto ultra-smooth surfaces). A doubly focused 85x95 nm(2) hard x-ray nanobeam has been obtained on the UNICAT beamline 34-ID at the Advanced Photon Source. The performance of the mirrors, techniques for characterizing the spot size, and factors limiting focusing performance are discussed. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.