Bertin Technologies secures regional and national funding for the PACMANS Project: Advancing mirror technology for synchrotrons

PACMANS, the Program for Absolute Surface Control of Mirrors at Nanometer Level for Synchrotrons, received funding from the Future Investment Program (PIA4), focusing on the Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur region, under the ‘Collaborative R&D Projects’ category. The mission of PACMANS is to develop next-generation synchrotron X-ray mirrors that address the market’s growing needs for precision and performance.

The fourth Future Investment Program (PIA4), which is regionalized, targets ‘Collaborative R&D Projects’ and has chosen to support PACMANS, an innovative and high-value proposal for the demanding synchrotron market. This pioneering project, led by Bertin Technologies, involves a consortium of French entities, including several CNRS laboratories and the LSBB (Underground Low-Noise Laboratory). The LSBB’s unique environment will enable state-of-the-art metrology for the mirrors.

Bertin Winlight Business Unit, a global leader in the design and manufacture of advanced optics for synchrotrons, has produced over 600 X-ray mirrors using traditional polishing and Ion Beam Figuring (IBF) over the past 20 years, significantly contributing to the transmission, and focusing of X-ray beams. However, with the current trend of facilities upgrade to improve the optical quality of X-ray beams, there is an essential need for a new generation of more accurate X-ray mirrors. These mirrors must achieve a surface figure error below 1 nm PtV and a roughness under 1 Å rms which is out of reach with traditional polishing and Ion Beam Figuring (IBF). This requirement is central to the PACMANS project, which aims to develop an innovative polishing technology and the associated metrology.

Thanks to its multidisciplinary consortium, PACMANS seeks to enhance the capabilities of Bertin Technologies, a French leader in providing comprehensive high-energy X-ray beam focusing equipment at an industrial level. The project has drawn state attention for its potential to strengthen national sovereignty in high-performance optical instrumentation and decrease reliance on foreign supplies in critical sectors. With PACMANS, Bertin Technologies underscores its commitment to innovation, driving a new era of performance in the synchrotron field and setting the stage for promising prospects in research and development across strategic industries.