TRIXS: a multilayer grating solution towards highly efficient resonant inelastic tender X-ray scattering.

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) is crucial for condensed matter physics research.
• Existing RIXS instrumentation covers soft and hard X-rays, but tender X-rays (2000-3000 eV) for 4d transition metals are underdeveloped due to limitations in energy-dispersive optics.
• This gap hinders the study of a significant class of transition metal materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and fabricate a high-performance energy-dispersive optic for tender X-ray RIXS.
• To establish tender X-ray RIXS capabilities at the I21 RIXS beamline.
• To expand the accessible energy range of RIXS spectroscopy for studying 4d transition metal materials.

Main Methods:

• Development and fabrication of a laterally graded multilayer grating (MLG) optic.
• Implementation of the MLG optic at the I21 RIXS beamline.
• Performance evaluation using Sulfur K-edge and Ru L3-edge measurements.

Main Results:

• The MLG optic significantly increased photon flux by over an order of magnitude compared to single-layer gratings (SLG) at Sulfur K-edge (2475 eV) and Ru L3-edge (2838 eV).
• The MLG optic maintained the high energy resolution (~10,000) of the SLG design.
• The MLG optic provides continuous operation across the 2000-3000 eV tender X-ray range.

Conclusions:

• The developed MLG optic successfully establishes tender X-ray RIXS capabilities at the I21 beamline.
• The I21 beamline is now the first RIXS facility globally offering continuous coverage from soft to tender X-rays (280-3000 eV) using grating-based spectroscopy.
• This advancement opens new avenues for diverse scientific applications in condensed matter and materials science.