Design and performance of a varied line space grating soft x-ray monochromator

This thesis discusses the design and performance of a varied line space (VLS) grating soft x-ray monochromator constructed at the Synchrotron Ultra- violet Radiation Facility (SURF II), at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Maryland. Advantages of the design include fixed entrance and exit slits, fixed entrance and exit axes, simple optical elements, simple wavelength scanning, moderate resolving powers and good throughput. Topics addressed in detail are: focusing properties of VLS gratings, ray tracing studies of the NIST beamline, and the performance of the assembled monochromator. Ray tracing studies show that resolving powers in excess of 1000 and throughput of 8 x 10⁹ photons/sec/mA should be attainable. Commissioning of the beamline at NIST has produced resolving powers on the order of 700 and throughput of 6 x 10⁹ photons/sec/mA. Some background information on the characteristics of synchrotron radiation and standard soft x- ray monochromator designs will also be presented.