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Diamond Refractive Focusing Optics

Award Information
Agency: Department of Energy
Branch: N/A
Contract: DE-FG02-12ER90320
Agency Tracking Number: 98875
Amount: $142,528.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: 16 a
Solicitation Number: DE-FOA-0000577
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2012
Award Year: 2012
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2012-02-20
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2012-11-19
Small Business Information
3825 Lancaster Pike
Wilmington, DE 19805-1558
United States
DUNS: 147256648
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Joseph Tabeling
 Dr.
 (302) 999-7476
 joe@ddk.com
Business Contact
 Peter Morton
Title: Dr.
Phone: (302) 999-7476
Email: pete@ddk.com
Research Institution
 Stub
Abstract

Synchrotron-based science has had a great scientific impact and will continue to have great impact going forward. In spite of the large investment in the 3rd generation light sources, most beam lines do not preserve the sources phase profile or brightness all the way to the sample. For these high brightness light sources, errors are almost completely due to distortion in the front-end optics caused by the high heat loads generated by the broadband radiation from the insertion device. The role of the first optic is to reduce the heat load on the rest of the beam line by reducing the bandwidth of radiation transmitted downstream. Diamond is rapidly gaining acceptance as an optical material for 3rd and 4th generation light sources because of its superior thermal properties. Existing applications include vacuum windows, attenuators, phase plates and monochromator crystals. These applications take advantage of diamonds low coefficient of thermal expansion, low absorption and high thermal conductivity which combine to minimize distortion under thermal load. Beryllium is the only other practical material with better absorption properties but its health and environmental concerns make diamond a preferred choice. Delaware Diamond Knives has produced a prototype refractive lens from single crystal diamond whose performance approached that of todays commercially available optics. We intend to improve our cutting processes to further improve the diamond lens performance and then to characterize the lens in a beam line test. Success will motivate us to simulate, design and build suitable cooling, mounting and manipulation hardware for the application of these lenses as front-end optics. The proposed approach has the potential for a significant impact on materials research at synchrotron facilities around the world. It solves an immediate and pressing problem of spatial resolution for them creating additional opportunities for micro- and nano-scale research for users of 3rd and 4th generation light sources

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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