Shape correction of optical surfaces using plasma chemical vaporization machining with a hemispherical tip electrode.

We propose a plasma chemical vaporization machining device with a hemispherical tip electrode for optical fabrication. Radio-frequency plasma is generated close to the electrode under atmospheric conditions, and a workpiece is scanned relative to the stationary electrode under three-axis motion control to remove target areas on a workpiece surface. Experimental results demonstrate that surface removal progresses although process gas is not forcibly supplied to the plasma. The correction of shape errors on conventionally polished spheres is performed. As a result, highly accurate smooth surfaces with the desired rms shape accuracy of 3 nm are successfully obtained, which confirms that the device is effective for the fabrication of optics.

Removal characteristics of plasma chemical vaporization machining with a pipe electrode for optical fabrication.

Plasma chemical vaporization machining (CVM) is a high-precision chemical shaping method using rf plasma generated in the proximity of an electrode in an atmospheric environment. The purpose of the present study is to clarify the removal characteristics of plasma CVM using a pipe electrode. Polished fused silica plates were processed by plasma CVM, polishing, and precision grinding under various conditions. The removal rate of plasma CVM was about 4 to 1100 times faster than that of polishing, and the maximum removal rate was almost equal to that of precision grinding. The roughness of the resultant surfaces was almost the same as that of the polished surfaces.

Fabrication of ultrathin and highly uniform silicon on insulator by numerically controlled plasma chemical vaporization machining.

Metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer operate faster and at a lower power than those fabricated on a bulk silicon wafer. Scaling down, which improves their performances, demands thinner SOI wafers. In this article, improvement on the thinning of SOI wafers by numerically controlled plasma chemical vaporization machining (PCVM) is described. PCVM is a gas-phase chemical etching method in which reactive species generated in atmospheric-pressure plasma are used. Some factors affecting uniformity are investigated and methods for improvements are presented. As a result of thinning a commercial 8 in. SOI wafer, the initial SOI layer thickness of 97.5+/-4.7 nm was successfully thinned and made uniform at 7.5+/-1.5 nm.

Element array by scanning X-ray fluorescence microscopy after cis-diamminedichloro-platinum(II) treatment.

Minerals are important for cellular functions, such as transcription and enzyme activity, and are also involved in the metabolism of anticancer chemotherapeutic compounds. Profiling of intracellular elements in individual cells could help in understanding the mechanism of drug resistance in tumors and possibly provide a new strategy of anticancer chemotherapy. Using a recently developed technique of scanning X-ray fluorescence microscopy (SXFM), we analyzed intracellular elements after treatment with cis-diamminedichloro-platinum(II) (CDDP), a platinum-based anticancer agent. The images obtained by SXFM (element array) revealed that the average Pt content of CDDP-resistant cells was 2.6 times less than that of sensitive cells, and the zinc content was inversely correlated with the intracellular Pt content. Data suggested that Zn-related detoxification is responsible for resistance to CDDP. Of Zn-related excretion factors, glutathione was highly correlated with the amount of Zn. The combined treatment of CDDP and a Zn(II) chelator resulted in the incorporation of thrice more Pt with the concomitant down-regulation of glutathione. We propose that the generation of an element array by SXFM opens up new avenues in cancer biology and treatment.

Fabrication of small complex-shaped optics by plasma chemical vaporization machining with a microelectrode.

We have developed plasma chemical vaporization machining by using a microelectrode for the fabrication of small complex-shaped optical surfaces. In this method, a 0.5 mm diameter pipe microelectrode, from which processing gas is drawn in, generates a small localized plasma that is scanned over a workpiece under numerical computer control to shape a desired surface. A 12 mm x 12 mm nonaxisymmetric mirror with a maximum depth of approximately 3 microm was successfully fabricated with a peak-to-valley shape accuracy of 0.04 microm in an area excluding the edges of the mirror. The average surface roughness was 0.58 nm, which is smooth enough for optical use.

Wave-optical evaluation of interference fringes and wavefront phase in a hard-x-ray beam totally reflected by mirror optics.

The intensity flatness and wavefront shape in a coherent hard-x-ray beam totally reflected by flat mirrors that have surface bumps modeled by Gaussian functions were investigated by use of a wave-optical simulation code. Simulated results revealed the necessity for peak-to-valley height accuracy of better than 1 nm at a lateral resolution near 0.1 mm to remove high-contrast interference fringes and appreciable wavefront phase errors. Three mirrors that had different surface qualities were tested at the 1 km-long beam line at the SPring-8/Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute. Interference fringes faded when the surface figure was corrected below the subnanometer level to a spatial resolution close to 0.1 mm, as indicated by the simulated results.

Fabrication of optics by use of plasma chemical vaporization machining with a pipe electrode.

We figure optical surfaces by plasma chemical vaporization machining (CVM) with a pipe electrode, in which an rf plasma generated at the electrode tip under approximately atmospheric pressure moves over the surfaces. We propose a shaping method in which the movement of plasma on the surfaces can be determined. Flat and aspheric surfaces are successfully figured with the desired peak-to-valley shape accuracy of 0.1 microm. The root-mean-square roughness of the resultant surfaces is at the subnanometer level. These results confirm that the plasma CVM and the shaping method have the capability to fabricate optics with high accuracy.

Nearly diffraction-limited line focusing of a hard-X-ray beam with an elliptically figured mirror.

An elliptical mirror for X-ray microfocusing was manufactured using the new fabrication methods of elastic emission machining and plasma chemical vaporization machining. Surface profiles measured using stitching interferometry showed a maximum deviation around the ideal figure of 7 nm peak-to-valley. The mirror showed nearly diffraction-limited focusing performance, with a 200 nm line width at the focus. Wave-optical calculations, taking the measured surface profile into consideration, reproduced well the measured focusing properties both at and around the beam waist.

Image quality improvement in a hard X-ray projection microscope using total reflection mirror optics.

A new figure correction method has been applied in order to fabricate an elliptical mirror to realize a one-dimensionally diverging X-ray beam having high image quality. Mutual relations between figure errors and intensity uniformities of diverging X-ray beams have also been investigated using a wave-optical simulator and indicate that figure errors in relatively short spatial wavelength ranges lead to high-contrast interference fringes. By using a microstitching interferometer and elastic emission machining, figure correction of an elliptical mirror with a lateral resolution close to 0.1 mm was carried out. A one-dimensional diverging X-ray obtained using the fabricated mirror was observed at SPring-8 and evaluated to have a sufficiently flat intensity distribution.