Precision motion and position control for the Plane Grating Monochromator at SRC

A nearly stigmatic Plane Grating Monochromator (PGM) under commissioning for the new undulator beamline at the Synchrotron Radiation Center will provide a resolving power > 10000 as it scans from 8 to 240 eV. Scanning requires the precise, simultaneous rotation of a plane mirror and a combined rotation-translation of a plane grating in close proximity to one another inside a UHV chamber. The required scanning motions are significant due to the large energy range covered by a single grating. The mirror and grating rotate nearly 23 and 33 degrees respectively and the grating translates approximately 200 mm. Sub-arcsec angular resolution allows several steps to be taken across the monochromator's energy resolution. Both rotations utilize a combination stepping motor-piezoelectric actuator scan drive that is controlled with a feedback loop using a laser interferometer to measure the in-situ rotation of the optics. The grating mechanism is supported via bellows to an external stepping motor driven stage that travels directly on an inspection grade granite block. The stage position is controlled with a feedback loop using a precision linear encoder. A positional accuracy and vertical stability of a few micrometers is achieved on the grating translation which prevents the image from shifting at the exit slit and introducing energy calibration errors.