The core mission of OPT is to develop and deliver innovative x-ray optics and optical systems and provide related services to further the APS mission of enabling cutting-edge scientific research. In support of this mission, the Optics group:

• Designs, fabricates, and characterizes x-ray optical elements, such as crystal monochromators and analyzers, single- and multi-layer optics, and nanofocusing optics;
• Operates and develops optics fabrication and characterization laboratories and instruments, including the crystal optics fabrication laboratory, the deposition laboratory, the optical metrology laboratory, and the 1-BM Optics Testing Beamline; and
• Conducts R&D to develop future-generation optical components, such as wavefront- preserving optics and wavefront sensors and characterization tools, as well as beamline optics simulation, diagnostics, and optimization tools.

Established in the mid-1990s after the commissioning of the APS, OPT has evolved to comprise the following main activities: 1) crystal optics and multilayer optics development and fabrication, 2) zone plate development and fabrication, 3) beamline optics simulation, characterization, and optimization, 4) optical metrology, and 5) operation of the 1-BM Optics Testing Beamline.