Cynthia Ottemann
Picture Perfect Blazed Masters
Picture Perfect Blazed Masters
Cynthia Ottemann
Inprentus Founder and CSO Peter Abbamonte gives ...

Team Inprentus attended the 2024 SPIE AR VR MR Conference in San Francisco, where founder and CSO Dr. Peter Abbamonte presented “Blazed Gratings for AR Made By Contact-Mode Lithography”

Cynthia Ottemann
Inprentus sponsors the 2023 Advanced Light ...
Inprentus sponsors the 2023 Advanced Light Source User Meeting

Inprentus Launches Diffraction Grating Metrology Services

Inprentus Precision Optics, the worldleader in custom mechanically-ruled blazed diffraction gratings, adds Metrology Services to its product offerings

CHAMPAIGN, IL, UNITED STATES, April 5, 2024 / https://www.einpresswire.com/article/701260558/inprentus-launches-diffraction-grating-metrology-services

Inprentus Precision Optics, the world leader in custom mechanically-ruled blazed diffraction gratings, has announced the addition of Metrology Services to its product offerings. Founded in 2012, Inprentus specializes in the manufacture of Blazed Gratings for Synchrotrons, Free Electron Lasers, Spectroscopy, EUV, Semi-Conductors, and Augmented Reality Waveguides. With the addition of Metrology Services, Inprentus now offers their unique expertise to serve customers through all phases of optical services – from design to manufacture to characterization. With over 10 years of experience in assessing key properties to benchmark grating performance, Inprentus has deep subject matter expertise stemming from first principles of optics. Inprentus' metrology offerings include:

• Fizeau Interferometry to measure resolving power

• Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to measure groove shape, dimensions, and surface roughness

• Focused Ion Bean (FIB) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to measure groove shapes

• Two-Circle Diffractometer to measure blaze and anti-blaze angles for the whole grating

• Two-Circle Diffractometer to measure stray light for both angle integrated and angle resolved modes

• 248nm Reflectometer to measure grating efficiency

• Custom metrology projects (contact Inprentus)

Subha Kumar, Inprentus' Chief Growth Officer, explained that “Following our founder Peter Abbamonte’s presentation at SPIEXR 2024 highlighting the large variety of grating-specific measurements we routinely use, it was clear that there was substantial industry interest in our unique metrology capabilities. We are excited to respond to the call to share our deep grating expertise and to continue to create the world’s most advanced diffractive optics.”

About Inprentus

Inprentus was founded in 2012 to commercialize an innovative, dual atomic force microscope scribing technology, used to carry out nano-scale lithography via mechanical deformation of metallic surfaces. Inprentus designs, manufactures, and characterizes diffraction gratings for use in research facilities, manufacturing, and augmented reality. Contact Inprentus at info@inprentus.com to start your next grating project!

Subha Kumar

Inprentus, Inc

+1 217-239-9862

This press release can be viewed online at: https://www.einpresswire.com/article/701260558

Inprentus gains traction among AR customers with their mechanically ruled, fully blazed waveguide solutions

In January of 2023, Inprentus debuted their unique blazed grating strategy for Augmented Reality waveguides at SPIE 2023 AR|VR|MR conference (link). Within the next 8 months, this small company from Champaign, Illinois has seen rapid engagement with more than 10 leading companies at the forefront of the Augmented Reality industry.  “These companies, among the largest AR original equipment manufacturers, have gaps in their manufacturing solutions”, says Subha Kumar, the Chief Growth Officer at Inprentus. “Additionally, we are very excited about our developing partnerships with several high volume replicators, allowing us to be a one-stop shop for waveguides - from manufacturing of masters to delivering replicated lenses for smart glass manufacturers.” 

Blazed grating structures have high spectral tunability, large angular bandwidth, are highly efficient, and are easy to replicate. The advantages of mechanically-ruled blazed masters over traditional e-beam lithography masters are many, and include: one technology for ruling all waveguide gratings, crossed (2D) grating capabilities, no screen-door effect, line-by-line control of diffractive properties, highly efficient blazed facets, and ease of scalability.

A key bottleneck in the manufacture of blazed waveguides involves a series of complex and expensive manufacturing steps using e-beam lithography. Inprentus elegantly addresses this bottleneck by employing a simple and unique nanoscale contact mode lithography technique called mechanical ruling as an alternative to e-beam lithography. The Inprentus technique is ideal for creating master diffractive optics used for prototyping as well as for high-volume replication. Inprentus’ mechanical ruling methods allow for multiple gratings – input, expander, and output – to be precisely oriented on a surface to create an AR waveguide using a single efficient manufacturing set-up. 

Inprentus - Blazed nanostructures have superior performance

Peter Abbamonte, Inprentus’ founder and professor of physics at the University of Illinois, noted “Our experience over the past ten years, as providers of high-value diffraction gratings for materials research, precision spectroscopy, and the semiconductor lithography market, has primed us to address the stringent requirements of the emerging AR market. Clearly, the Inprentus method presents a distinct manufacturing advantage for surface relief waveguides where one does not have to choose between performance and scalability”.

Inprentus offers established optics engineering services including complete optical system designs, RCWA and FDTD simulations, design-for-manufacturing services, manufacturing of masters in collaboration with a replication partner, and a full suite of metrology techniques. 

Inprentus wins contract to provide a VLS grating for the diagnostic spectrometer at the the Shanghai Soft X-ray Free-Electron Laser (SSXFEL)

Shanghai Tech University has chosen Inprentus to provide a diffraction grating for the Shanghai Soft X-ray Free-Electron Laser (SSXFEL), the first X-ray free-electron laser user facility in China. Inprentus was selected for its unique capability to manufacture a blazed diffraction grating with varied line spacing (VLS) on a cylindrical, concave substrate. The grating will be one of the core elements used in the diagnostic spectrometer to provide high spectral resolution photon diagnostics of the FEL-II beamline.

Pictured: Inprentus blazed grating. Inprentus specializes in providing ultra-low blaze-angle, varied line spacing, diffraction gratings for Synchrotron and Free-Electron Laser (FEL) facilities.

The Inprentus grating will facilitate the important goal of high spectral resolution (R>40,000) across a broad photon energy range of 0.4keV-1.2keV. “A high precision optical element is very important to realize this goal, especially a variable line spacing grating” says Dr. Ximing Zhang, a scientist working with Dr. Bin Li on the facility design. He further added that this grating has been designed to be created on a meridian cylindrical surface to control and optimize the spectrometer’s meridian focal spot, achieving higher sensitivity. Dr. Zhang explained that “during the commissioning of the FEL facility and the undulator, especially when the light is far from saturation, the spectrometer’s higher-resolution and suppressed sagittal astigmatism will greatly enhance the detection efficiency.”

FELs such as the Shanghai Soft X-ray Free-Electron Laser (SSXFEL) have many unique advantages as photon sources, including ultrashort pulses, wavelength tunability, high brightness and peak power, and wide spectral range. Diffractive optics are especially essential to leveraging the wide spectral range in experiments requiring narrow bandwidths. The high brightness of the FEL provides a challenge as well as a benefit: serious radiation damage can occur on the grating’s coating materials if the groove profile has a lateral surface. Importantly, with low-blaze angle gratings such as the grating provided by Inprentus, the grazing-incidence light maintains a low footprint on the groove surface, reducing thermal effects and minimizing radiation damage. Blazed gratings are therefore optimal for use in FELs for their design reliability and applicability as well as higher efficiency than other types of gratings. Inprentus is the world leader in low-blaze angle diffraction gratings for synchrotron and FEL applications, previously achieving blaze angles as low as 0.1 degrees using the fabrication technique of mechanical ruling.

The SSXFEL facility was developed on the campus of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) to promote free-electron laser research in China and to explore possibilities for seeding X-ray FELs. The facility specializes in coherent diffraction imaging, ultra-fast physics, pump probe, and other experiments to study atomic processes using soft X-rays within the “water window”, the wavelength range (2.3 – 4.4nm) where water is relatively transparent, while other materials, notably carbon, are opaque. Fundamental processes in materials science and biology can be more easily studied at this wavelength range.

Subha Kumar — Chief Growth Officer of Inprentus — says "Inprentus has been awarded this custom grating project due to the technical complexity as well as the project complexity. In addition to efficiency and resolving-power targets related to manufacturing, Inprentus will also coordinate the procurement of precisely shaped substrates and a thin, platinum overcoat for the finished grating.  Inprentus scientists have experience with managing the complex requirements for FEL grating solutions, allowing us to assure timely delivery of high-quality gratings within budget.”

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 2012 to commercialize an innovative, nano-scale lithography technology using mechanical deformation of metallic surfaces.

Tagged: #inprentus #SSXFEL #China #FEL #blazed #diffraction #grating #variedlinespacing #highefficiency #highresolvingpower

Inprentus introduces unique blazed grating strategy for Augmented Reality waveguides at SPIE 2023 AR|VR|MR conference

The Inprentus team highlighted their mechanical ruling technique to achieve elusive blazed groove shapes for AR waveguides at SPIE AR|VR|MR 2023 conference, held in San Francisco’s Moscone Center from 30th January-1st February.

Revolutionary Blazed Master Waveguide Prototype for AR Applications by Inprentus

Inprentus kick-started the week with Dr. Peter Abbamonte, founder and CSO, presenting a talk titled Mechanically Ruled, Blazed Gratings for AR Waveguides. Using this foundational technique, Inprentus creates triangulated grooves by deforming metallic surfaces with a diamond stylus. He explained that “augmented reality total internal reflection (TIR) waveguides work by using a surface diffraction grating to couple light in and out of the device. The traditional way to tune the spectral response of a grating is by blazing it. However, blazed facets are difficult to fabricate using e-beam lithography techniques, particularly in the sub-wavelength regime (lambda ~500 nm and below)“. The talk was enthusiastically received by members from the AR industry who have relied on alternate lithography techniques and groove shapes until now. He then presented Inprentus’ ground-breaking capabilities in ruling gratings for the AR market in the line density range of 3000-4000 lpmm.

The Inprentus team included Jonathan Manton (CTO), Marty Dugan (VP of Business Development), Dr. Subha Kumar (Product Lead Scientist), and Dr. Sam Gleason (Senior Scientist). Jonathan presented the world’s first mechanically ruled master waveguide mold, consisting of input, turn, and output grating structures, for use in AR headset eyepieces. Jonathan explained that “Inprentus’ waveguide master is ruled on a gold 6-inch wafer and coated with a thin layer of Tantalum to provide an oxide layer to facilitate downstream imprinting processes.”

Subha, Marty, and Jonathan (left to right) at the Inprentus booth at SPIE 2023 AR|VR|XR Conference

The team received feedback that there is an industry-wide gap between the promise of sleek smart glass solutions and current AR glasses. Power-tethering requirements increase bulk, and an important social factor of seeing the wearer’s eyes is currently obscured by the “eye-glow” phenomenon. Inprentus’ ability to make asymmetric, highly tunable blazed structures enable high efficiency and reduced eye-glow. In addition, gratings produced by Inprentus have no write-field limitation and excellent long-range coherence, eliminating the “screen-door effect” common in lithographically made gratings.

Dr. Subha Kumar connected with suppliers on the exhibition floor and observed that ”the conference was extremely useful in providing the pulse on current AR technologies, especially the overview course by Bernard Kress. A variety of industries, domestic and international, require streamlined solutions in place of the current complex mastering and imprinting process. In response, Inprentus continues our commitment to developing partnerships with leading Nanoimprint Lithography (NIL) companies to supply transparent lenses directly to AR customers.”

Inprentus Inc.
Inprentus designs, manufactures, and sells X-ray and EUV diffraction gratings for synchrotron and free electron laser facilities as well as grating masters for augmented reality optics and spectroscopy applications. The company was founded in 2012 to commercialize innovative, nano-scale scribing technology. This technology is a general-purpose approach to high-precision patterning of surfaces and is particularly suited to the manufacture of 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.

Link to article by WebPost: https://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=303846

Inprentus Enters the Augmented Reality Market Supplying Blazed Grating Masters for Grating-Coupled Waveguides in AR Glasses

Inprentus now offers manufacturing and design services for a core component in the augmented reality optics market. The company’s blazed diffractive waveguide masters can be used for rapid prototyping and mass production of AR headset eyepieces. High-efficiency blazed waveguides can lower power consumption in headset/glasses, offering improved performance and higher manufacturing yield.

Champaign, Illinois, USA, January 25th, 2023: Inprentus, a supplier of custom diffractive optics to a variety of industries, employs a unique and innovative nanoscale contact mode lithography technique that combines ultrahigh precision mechanical ruling of metallic surfaces and a variety of proprietary control software, sensor technology and materials science techniques. This method is designed to produce blazed diffractive patterns on optical surfaces for the purpose of controlling light. The company’s nanoscale contact mode lithography process is ideal for manufacturing master diffractive optics used for prototyping as well as high-volume replication.

Inprentus blazed patterns can include a wide range of blaze angles, variable line spacing for focusing and image correction. Multiple blazed patterns (gratings) can be precisely oriented on a surface to create an AR eyepiece. These structures will be used in the next generation of augmented reality glasses by projecting images from outside of the lens, through the waveguide, and then to the eye without the use of bulky “bird bath” optics or non-blazed waveguide patterns, both of which have drawbacks, including low efficiency and higher product manufacturing costs. The Inprentus nanoscale contact mode lithography technique allows multiple gratings, such as input, expander, and output patterns, to be manufactured using the same setup.

Peter Abbamonte, Inprentus’ Chief Science Officer, noted “The company’s experience over the past ten years, first as a provider of high value, x-ray diffraction gratings for materials research facilities around the world, then as a producer of gratings for precision spectroscopy and semiconductor lithography, has given us the skills we need to meet the stringent requirements of the AR market.”

A key advantage of mechanical lithography is that it can fabricate blazed, sub-wavelength patterns with the asymmetry needed to couple light into a waveguide with high efficiency. Controlling the facet angles to 0.1 deg accuracy allows exquisite spectral tuning with excellent wavefront flatness (<60 nm), without stitching errors that plague other lithography techniques. Blazed patterns are an established platform for high-volume replication with high fidelity. Ruling two-dimensional gratings, also known as crossed gratings, is also possible by extending current capabilities.

Inprentus is now one of the leading manufacturers of custom blazed diffraction gratings worldwide, having delivered over 50 unique projects for visible light, extreme ultraviolet, and x-ray wavelength applications. Company technology achievements include delivering the lowest blaze angle ever achieved in a mechanically ruled grating, 0.1 deg, in an optic with a length of 480 mm. The company offers established optics engineering services including complete instrument designs, RCWA and FDTD simulations, design-for-manufacturing services, and a full suite of metrology techniques.

Inprentus Inc.

Inprentus designs, manufactures, and sells X-ray and EUV diffraction gratings for synchrotron and free electron laser facilities as well as diffraction grating masters for augmented reality optics and spectroscopy applications. 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 the manufacture of 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.

Inprentus has been Awarded a Contract to Supply High-Precision Diffraction Gratings to the Semiconductor Industry for Metrology Applications

Inprentus will supply EUV Tech Inc. with custom designed blazed diffraction gratings for semiconductor metrology.

Champaign, Illinois, USA, October 4th, 2022: A contract has been awarded to Inprentus to supply custom manufactured diffraction gratings. These unique diffraction gratings will be use as optical components for semiconductor EUV metrology instrumentation manufactured by EUV Tech Inc., located in Martinez California.

Inprentus and EUV Tech worked together to optimize the design of the optical components to maximize the efficiency and optical characteristics for the semiconductor metrology application.

Ron van Os, Inprentus’ CEO, noted “This second design and manufacturing opportunity with EUV Tech is evidence that Inprentus is delivering significant value to our customers by offering design optimization services along with our proven manufacturing expertise. Continued close customer engagement will continue to be a key strategy in reaching our goals.”

“Working with the team at Inprentus has allowed EUV Tech to significantly reduce our time to market in the development of a unique new EUV mask phase measurement tool while also providing state-of-the-art optical components” said Patrick Naulleau, EUV Tech’s CEO.

Inprentus Inc.

Inprentus designs, manufactures, and sells X-ray and EUV diffraction gratings for synchrotron and free electron laser facilities as well as diffraction grating masters for augmented reality optics and spectroscopy applications. 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 the manufacture of 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.

Inprentus Confirms New Contracts for the Sale of Diffraction Gratings for X-ray Optics Applications at Synchrotron Light Sources in US and Brazil

Synchrotron beamline scientists around the world benefit from advancements in diffraction gra­­­ting specifications, providing improved efficiency and high resolving power for x-ray optics applications

Champaign, Illinois, USA, November 10th, 2020: Inprentus serves the x-ray optics scientific community globally, providing blazed diffraction gratings for synchrotron and free electron laser light sources around the world. These ultra-high precision optical components help scientists gather data on materials science research and study the physical properties of matter. This important data furthers the development of research on semiconductor materials, pharmaceuticals, cellular biology, and condensed matter physics, allowing scientists to study the magnetism, conductivity, light absorption & emission, and reactivity of matter.

Inprentus has been awarded a contract to provide Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS) with a diffraction grating for its MERLIN beamline. This tangentially curved VLS (variable line spacing) blazed grating will be part of the upgraded optical instrumentation, ultimately providing scientists with data on the structure of heterogeneous materials. This data helps scientists to gain a deeper understanding of semiconductors and metals with exotic low temperature superconducting or topological properties, as well as thin film and material interface properties. The capability to produce gratings with a blaze angle of less than 2 degrees across the grating was an important specification for this project.

Inprentus received another important order for a custom blazed diffraction grating from Brazil’s LNLS SIRIUS synchrotron, to be installed in the Ipê (Inelastic and Photo-Electron spectroscopy) beamline. The Inprentus diffraction grating will be a plane VLS (variable line spacing) blazed grating with a blaze angle of 1.4 degrees; high resolving power will be optimized at the energy range encompassing the absorption edges of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Soft X-rays from this synchrotron light source interact mostly with the lowest energy electrons of atoms, which are responsible for most of the macroscopic properties of materials such as magnetism, conductivity, light absorption and emission, and reactivity. This new low energy grating provided by Inprentus will allow the users of the IPE beamline to investigate a wide variety of carbon-based materials, from graphene devices to organic polymers and biological samples.

“We continue to grow our customer base in the synchrotron and free electron laser market with key customers like Brazil’s SIRIUS and ALS in the US,” noted Ron van Os, Inprentus’ CEO. “With years of solid experience providing the world’s leading synchrotrons with key diffractive optics, the company is ready to grow towards new applications and new markets.”

Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS)

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.

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 received another important order for a custom blazed diffraction grating from Brazil’s LNLS SIRIUS synchrotron, to be installed in the Ipê (Inelastic and Photo-Electron spectroscopy) beamline. The Inprentus diffraction grating will be a plane VLS (variable line spacing) blazed grating with a blaze angle of 1.4 degrees; high resolving power will be optimized at the energy range encompassing the absorption edges of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Soft X-rays from this synchrotron light source interact mostly with the lowest energy electrons of atoms, which are responsible for most of the macroscopic properties of materials such as magnetism, conductivity, light absorption and emission, and reactivity. This new low energy grating provided by Inprentus will allow the users of the IPE beamline to

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.

Inprentus Awarded Contract to Manufacture Ultra-High Precision Diffraction Grating for China’s SHINE X-ray Free Electron Laser Facility in Shanghai

The custom designed ultra-high precision blazed diffraction grating for the self-seeding SHINE x-ray free electron laser will be a key optical component in the functionality of the laser’s monochromator instrumentation.

Champaign, Illinois, USA, February 5th, 2020: Inprentus has been chosen to provide China’s SHINE X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) facility with a cylindrical variable line space blazed diffraction grating. Inprentus was chosen based on its unique capabilities to manufacture curved surface diffraction gratings with high line densities and high optical efficiency. The SHINE self-seeding x-ray laser includes a monochromator instrument that is key to the laser’s core functionality. Inprentus will provide the high efficiency diffraction grating for this monochromator.

China’s SHINE X-ray Free Electron Laser Facility

The SHINE facility, which is currently under development, is located in Shanghai, China. It includes an x-ray free electron laser with overall length of 3.1 km. The XFEL consists of an 8GeV linac and 3 undulator lines to cover a wide range of photon energy ranging from 0.4-25 keV. There are 10 experiment end-stations located in two experimental halls to serve different scientific users. SHINE is one of several new high profile XFEL facilities in the world.

“This first contract with SHINE follows several high-profile diffraction grating deliveries Inprentus has provided to China’s other light source facilities within the past two years,” said Ron van Os, Inprentus’ CEO. “Our global effort to provide the world’s leading soft X-ray laser light sources with high efficiency, ultra-high precision diffraction gratings has shown our customers that we are a key supplier in the market and are willing to work closely with them to optimize their diffraction grating designs to achieve their advanced materials research goals.”

Inprentus Inc.

Inprentus designs, manufactures, and sells X-ray and EUV diffraction gratings for synchrotron radiation facilities and x-ray free electron light sources 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 Receives Contract For a Diffraction Grating for the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility to be used in ARPES Studies

The Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences has ordered a diffraction grating from Inprentus. This is the second in a series of orders received to supply the expansion of the new flagship synchrotron facility in China, the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility.

View the full press release here.