Laboratory arrangement for soft x-ray zone plate efficiency measurements.

We demonstrate a laboratory-scale arrangement for rapid and accurate measurements of the absolute and local efficiency of soft x-ray micro zone plates in the water window. This in-house instrument is based on a single-line lambda = 2.88 nm liquid-jet laser-plasma source. Measurements are performed by a simultaneous comparison of first diffraction-order photon flux with the flux in a calibrated reference signal. This arrangement eliminates existing source emission fluctuations. The performance of the method is demonstrated by the result from measurements of two approximately 55 microm diameter nickel micro zone plates, showing a groove efficiency of 12.9% +/- 1.1% and 11.7% +/- 1.0%. Furthermore, we show that spatially resolved efficiency mapping is an effective tool for a detailed characterization of local zone plate properties. Thus, this laboratory-scale instrument allows rapid feedback to the fabrication process which is important for future improvements.