Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A method of reducing the point spread function for high resolution particle beam profile measurement, comprising:providing a substrate including a high atomic number material;creating a plurality of slotted openings through said high atomic number material;creating said plurality of slotted openings using a technique which provides a knife edge around a periphery of said slotted openings, where the radius of said knife edge ranges from about 1 nm to about 5 nm; andfinishing the surface of said knife edge so that the surface roughness of said surface is less than about 5 nm RMS. 2. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein said particle beam is an electron beam, wherein a width of at least one of said slotted openings ranges from about 0.25 μm to about 2.5 μm, and a length of at least one of said slotted openings ranges from about 0.75 μm to about 20 μm. 3. A method in accordance with claim 1 or claim 2, wherein an angle is formed between a sidewall of said slotted opening and a horizontal substrate beneath said sidewalls which is at least 75°. 4. A method in accordance with claim 3, wherein said sidewall angle is formed to range between about 80° and about 89°. 5. A method in accordance with claim 4, wherein said sidewall angle is formed to range between about 84° and about 89°. 6. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein said knife edge surface is finished to an RMS finish between about 1 nm and about 3 nm. 7. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein said particle beam is selected from the group consisting of an electron beam, an ion beam, a laser beam, a proton beam, a neutron beam, or an X-ray. 8. A metrology array used to measure a beam profile of a particle beam, said metrology array comprising:a substrate including a high atomic number material;a plurality of slotted openings through said high atomic number material;a knife edge around a periphery of said slotted openings, where the radius of said knife edge ranges from about 1 nm to about 5 nm; anda surface finish on said knife edge which is less than about 5 nm RMS. 9. A metrology array in accordance with claim 8, wherein a width of at least one of said slotted openings ranges from about 0.25 μm to about 2.5 μm, and a length of at least one of said slotted openings ranges from about 0.75 μm to about 20 μm. 10. A metrology array in accordance with claim 8 or claim 9, wherein an angle between a sidewall of said slotted opening and a horizontal substrate beneath said sidewall is less than about 75°. 11. A metrology array in accordance with claim 10, wherein said sidewall angle ranges between about 80° and about 89°. 12. A metrology array in accordance with claim 11, wherein said sidewall angle ranges between about 84° and about 89°. 13. A metrology array in accordance with claim 8, wherein said knife edge surface exhibits an RMS finish between about 1 nm and about 3 nm.