The research and development work on the Advanced Light Source (ALS) upgrade to a diffraction limited storage ring light source, ALS-U, has brought to focus the need for near-perfect x-ray optics, capable of delivering light to experiments without significant degradation of brightness and coherence. The desired surface quality is characterized with residual (after subtraction of an ideal shape) surface slope and height errors of <50−100 nrad (rms) and <1−2 nm (rms), respectively. The ex-situ metrology that supports the optimal usage of the optics at the beamlines has to offer even higher measurement accuracy. At the ALS X-Ray Optics Laboratory, we are developing a new surface slope profiler, the Optical Surface Measuring System (OSMS), capable of two-dimensional (2D) surface-slope metrology at an absolute accuracy below the above optical specification. In this article we provide the results of comprehensive characterization of the key elements of the OSMS, a NOM-like high-precision granite gantry system with air-bearing translation and a custom-made precision air-bearing stage for tilting and flipping the surface under test. We show that the high performance of the gantry system allows implementing an original scanning mode for 2D mapping. We demonstrate the efficiency of the developed 2D mapping via comparison with 1D slope measurements performed with the same hyperbolic test mirror using the ALS developmental long trace profiler. The details of the OSMS design and the developed measuring techniques are also provided.

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