Diamond vs Beryllium Films for Improving Survivability of Metal Mirrors against X Rays

In this paper, we show the usefulness of diamond films for improving the survivability of thin film metal mirrors against intense x rays. Essentially, the low-Z, high thermal conductivity diamond film acts as an efficient heat sink, thus reducing the temperature in the metal film. A comparison is made between a diamond film and a beryllium film interposed between an aluminum/fused silica mirror. It is shown that at relatively low x-ray fluence, beryllium is somewhat more effective in reducing the aluminum temperature, whereas at high fluence, diamond is more effective.