OPTICS AND METROLOGY LABORATORY

The main instrument of the Optics Metrology Laboratory, is the NOM (Nanometer Optical Measurement) profilometer. After its use to characterize the mirrors of Phase I beamlines, it has been focused to develop the Nanobender project and to improve metrology techniques.

The accuracy of the profilometer has been improved in order to obtain a measure of the systematic errors of the instrument, together with an error-free measurement of the surface under test. Such techniques have been implemented to several sets of measurements and a continuous scan has been implemented to allow taking advantage of these techniques in workable time.

ALBA profilometer is today as good as the best profilometers in the world, in terms of noise, sensitivity, stability or systematic errors. Besides the prototype, this project has originated several publications and two patents, one of them licensed to the engineering company SENER.

The laboratory has quite unique systematic error suppression methods and very accurate optimization models for mirror benders and has started to measure systems for other institutions such as the SwissFEL.

IM-OpticsMetrologyLab1  IM-OpticsMetrologyLab2