Inprentus Contracted to Provide Brazil’s Synchrotron Light Laboratory with an Ultra-High Precision Diffraction Grating for Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering Experiments

The Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory, (Laboratório Nacional de Luz Síncrotron, LNLS) has chosen Inprentus to provide a diffraction grating for one of its phase-1 beamlines for the new 4th generation synchrotron Sirius, currently undergoing commissioning. Inprentus was chosen based on its unique capabilities to manufacture curved surface diffraction gratings with high line densities and high resolving power. These specifications will enable beamline scientists to develop experiments at the LNLS to delve deeper into the properties of materials and better understand their interactions.

The Ipê (Inelastic and Photo-Electron Spectroscopy) beamline at the LNLS uses X-rays to probe the structure of the lowest energy electrons of atoms, which are responsible for most of the macroscopic properties of materials such as magnetism, conductivity, light absorption & emission, and reactivity. The diffraction grating provided by Inprentus will be part of a high-resolution spectrometer used in the beamline to perform Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (RIXS) experiments. The RIXS spectrometer measures the energy-distribution of X-rays scattered by these “active” electrons, which are responsible for the material properties being studied. This novel experimental tool helps scientists at LNLS unravel the principles governing the operation of materials in modern devices such as solid-state hard drives & RAM chips, advanced batteries, liquid crystal displays, and other electronic devices.

“Gaining Brazil’s LNLS as a customer was an important milestone for Inprentus,” noted Ron van Os, Inprentus’ CEO. “With this opportunity, Inprentus is now providing diffraction gratings to customers on four continents, as it continues to grow its customer base.”

The Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) is responsible for the operation of the only synchrotron light source in Latin America. LNLS hosts academic and industrial researchers from many countries and is an important open-use research institution for the region. LNLS is commissioning Sirius, a new 4th generation light source.

Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS)

Inprentus Inc.
Inprentus designs, manufactures, and sells X-ray and EUV diffraction gratings for synchrotron radiation facilities. These state-of-the-art gratings are used for a variety of scientific and commercial applications by many Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions, and government laboratories around the world. Inprentus was founded in June 2012 to commercialize an innovative, nano-scale lithography technology using mechanical deformation of metallic surfaces.

Inprentus Awarded a High Value Contract to Supply the European X-ray Free Electron Laser with a Diffraction Grating for Realtime Beam Diagnostics

Inprentus will supply a custom designed blazed diffraction grating to be installed at the SQS (Small Quantum Systems) soft X-ray instrument at the EuXFEL. This instrument is dedicated to investigations of fundamental processes in atoms, molecules, and clusters irradiated with intense ultrashort X-ray pulses.

A contract has been awarded to Inprentus for the custom manufacture of an elliptical diffraction grating with variable line spacing. This unique diffraction grating will be part of the diagnostics instrumentation on the SQS soft X-ray instrument at the 3.4 km long European XFEL located in the German states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.

The European XFEL is the world's largest X-ray laser. It is opening up completely new research opportunities for scientists and industrial users. Typical scientific research targets at the SQS (one of currently six instrument stations at EuXFEL) include atoms, molecules, ions, nanoparticles, and biomolecules. The main applications focus on processes occurring under irradiation with ultra-short, highly intense X-ray pulses using a variety of spectroscopic techniques.  

“This is the second time Inprentus has been chosen to supply European XFEL with an ultra-high precision custom diffraction grating,” said Ron van Os, CEO of Inprentus. “Working with EuXFEL on the complex design of this unique beam diagnostic diffraction grating has again proven our ability to provide the world’s advanced materials research light sources with high quality components for their X-ray optics instrumentation.”

Inprentus Inc.

Inprentus designs, manufactures, and sells X-ray and EUV diffraction gratings for synchrotron and free electron laser facilities. Inprentus’ gratings are used for a variety of scientific and commercial applications by many Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions, and government laboratories around the world. The company was founded in 2012 to commercialize an innovative, nano-scale scribing technology. This technology is a general-purpose approach to high-precision patterning of surfaces and is particularly suited to X-ray and EUV diffractive optics in which features must be shaped with 0.1 degree angular precision and positioned with nanometer precision over distances of tens of centimeters.