Coherent X-ray beam expander based on a multilens interferometer.

A coherent X-ray beam expander based on a multilens interferometer is proposed in this paper. The multilens interferometer allows efficient generation of a highly diverging coherent beam up to several milliradians in the hard X-ray energy range. The optical properties of the interferometer were experimentally demonstrated at the ESRF ID13 undulator beamline (Grenoble, France), using 12.

Diamond refractive micro-lenses for full-field X-ray imaging and microscopy produced with ion beam lithography.

We demonstrate that ion-beam lithography can be applied to the fabrication of rotationally parabolic refractive diamond X-ray micro-lenses that are of interest to the field of high-resolution X-ray focusing and microscopy. Three single half-lenses with curvature radii of 4.8 µm were produced and stacked to form a compound refractive lens, which provided diffraction-limited focusing of X-ray radiation at the P14 beamline of PETRA-III (DESY).

Polymer X-ray refractive nano-lenses fabricated by additive technology.

The present work demonstrates the potential applicability of additive manufacturing to X-Ray refractive nano-lenses. A compound refractive lens with a radius of 5 µm was produced by the two-photon polymerization induced lithography. It was successfully tested at the X-ray microfocus laboratory source and a focal spot of 5 μm was measured.

Linear parabolic single-crystal diamond refractive lenses for synchrotron X-ray sources.

Linear parabolic diamond refractive lenses are presented, designed to withstand high thermal and radiation loads coming from upgraded accelerator X-ray sources. Lenses were manufactured by picosecond laser treatment of a high-quality single-crystal synthetic diamond. Twelve lenses with radius of curvature at parabola apex R = 200 µm, geometrical aperture A = 900 µm and length L = 1.

30-Lens interferometer for high-energy X-rays.

A novel high-energy multi-lens interferometer consisting of 30 arrays of planar compound refractive lenses is reported. Under coherent illumination each lens array creates a diffraction-limited secondary source. Overlapping such coherent beams produces an interference pattern demonstrating strong longitudinal functional dependence.

Hard x-ray single crystal bi-mirror.

We report a novel hard x-ray interferometer consisting of two parallel channels manufactured in a single Si crystal by means of microfabrication technology. The sidewall surfaces of the channels, similar to mirrors, scatter at very small incident angles, acting equivalently to narrow micrometer size slits as in the Young double-slit interferometer. Experimental tests of the interferometer were performed at the ESRF ID06 beamline in the energy range from 12 to 16 keV.

Large-acceptance diamond planar refractive lenses manufactured by laser cutting.

For the first time, single-crystal diamond planar refractive lenses have been fabricated by laser micromachining in 300 µm-thick diamond plates which were grown by chemical vapour deposition. Linear lenses with apertures up to 1 mm and parabola apex radii up to 500 µm were manufactured and tested at the ESRF ID06 beamline. The large acceptance of these lenses allows them to be used as beam-conditioning elements.

X-ray multilens interferometer based on Si refractive lenses.

We report a multilens X-ray interferometer consisting of six parallel arrays of planar compound refractive lenses, each of which creates a diffraction limited beam under coherent illumination. Overlapping such coherent beams produces an interference pattern demonstrating substantially strong longitudinal functional dependence. The interference fringe pattern produced by multilens interferometer was described by Talbot imaging formalism.

X-ray nanointerferometer based on si refractive bilenses.

We report a novel type of x-ray interferometer employing a bilens system consisting of two parallel compound refractive lenses, each of which creates a diffraction limited beam under coherent illumination. By closely overlapping such coherent beams, an interference field with a fringe spacing ranging from tens of nanometers to tens of micrometers is produced. In an experiment performed with 12 keV x rays, submicron fringes were observed by scanning and moiré imaging of the test grid.

Two-step hard X-ray focusing combining Fresnel zone plate and single-bounce ellipsoidal capillary.

A two-step focusing set-up combining a Fresnel zone plate with an ellipsoidal capillary is presented. It is shown that, in addition to the anticipated gain in flux, the employment of the prefocusing micro-optic makes optimal use of the elliptical shape of the capillary by almost eliminating aberrations. A small cross section of the prefocused beam allows a tiny fraction of the capillary surface to be selected, thus reducing the influence of slope errors.

Submicrometer hard X-ray focusing using a single-bounce ellipsoidal capillary combined with a Fresnel zone plate.

A single-bounce capillary with an ellipsoidal shape has been used for two-step focusing in combination with a Fresnel zone plate (FZP). The FZP serves as a first microfocusing element and produces a demagnified micrometer image of the source, before the elliptical capillary makes a last final compression of the beam. With 15 keV X-rays from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility BM5 bending magnet, the two-step demagnification system produced a focus of about 250 nm with a gain of more than 1000.

Effects of the microstructuring process on diffraction properties of bragg-fresnel lenses.

The effects appearing in a crystal microstructuring by reactive ion etching on diffraction properties of Bragg-Fresnel lenses were studied. Possible deviations of the real zone structures from ideal ones were considered. The influence of the Fresnel zone displacements due to sidewall undercutting effects and due to a mask erosion was analyzed.