Fabrication of aspherical mirror for soft x-ray optics system

The development of soft x-ray optics demands an extremely smooth aspherical mirrors with a geometrical accuracy in the sub nanometer range. So far several fabrication methods that utilize high precision machining operations, ion beam milling and plasma assisted chemical etching have been under study with each method having its own advantages and disadvantages. This study introduces a new fabrication method that makes use of an oil pressure to elastically deflect a finished spherical surface. The validity of the proposed method is assessed and the effective parameters are defined.