21–25 Sept 2026
Paul Scherrer Institut
Europe/Zurich timezone

Portable nanofocusing optics for hard X-ray free-electron lasers

23 Sept 2026, 18:15
15m
Auditorium (WHGA/001) (Paul Scherrer Institut)

Auditorium (WHGA/001)

Paul Scherrer Institut

Oral Nonlinear X-ray science Nonlinear X-Ray

Speaker

Prof. Ichiro Inoue (The University of Tokyo)

Description

Tight focusing of XFEL pulses is a straightforward and effective approach to increase their fluence and peak intensity. At most XFEL facilities, nanofocusing optics are treated as permanent beamline components and installed in dedicated vacuum chambers to minimize environmental disturbances such as mechanical vibrations and thermal fluctuations. However, their fixed installation often limits experimental flexibility.

At SACLA, we are pursuing the development of portable total-reflection nanofocusing optics [1]. Rather than employing the conventional Kirkpatrick–Baez geometry, we utilize Wolter geometry [2,3], which provides significantly improved tolerance to incident-angle errors and environmental disturbances. The fabricated optics have been successfully deployed not only at SACLA but also at various experimental stations at LCLS and European XFEL.

In this presentation, I will introduce the design concepts and scientific applications of portable one-dimensional Wolter optics. In particular, I will focus on their use in exploration of nonlinear X-ray phenomena [2,4] and single-shot full-field imaging [5] at SACLA, European XFEL, and LCLS. I will also describe our ongoing development of monolithic two-dimensional portable Wolter optics aimed at achieving simpler alignment procedures, smaller focal spot sizes, and higher throughput.

[1] Y. Inubushi et al., J. Synchrotron Rad. 32, 534 (2025).
[2] J. Yamada et al., Nature Photonics 18, 685 (2024).
[3] I. Inoue et al., Optica 12, 309 (2025).
[4] I. Inoue et al., arXiv:2506.07968 (to be appeared in Nature Photonics)
[5] G. Yamaguchi et al., Nature Photonics 20, 721 (2026), T. Sato, in preparation.

Scientific Topics Quantum Science

Author

Prof. Ichiro Inoue (The University of Tokyo)

Co-authors

Takahiro Sato (SLAC National Laboratory) Taito Osaka (RIKEN SPring-8 Center) Gota Yamaguchi Makina Yabashi (RIKEN) Jumpei Yamada

Presentation materials

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