Diffraction theory for azimuthally structured Fresnel zone plate.

A conventional Fresnel zone plate (FZP) consists of concentric rings with an alternating binary transmission of zero and one. In an azimuthally structured Fresnel zone plate (aFZP), the light transmission of the transparent zones is modulated in the azimuthal direction, too. The resulting structure is of interest for extreme ultraviolet and x-ray imaging, in particular, because of its improved mechanical stability as compared to the simple ring structure of an FZP.