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Updated: May 14, 2026

Applying X-ray Imaging Crystal Spectroscopy for Use as a High Temperature Plasma Diagnostic
Published on: August 25, 2016
Heat bump on a monochromator crystal measured with X-ray grating interferometry
Simon Rutishauser1, Alexander Rack, Timm Weitkamp
1Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland. simon.rutishauser@psi.ch
Abstract:
Deformation of the first crystal of an X-ray monochromator under the heat load of a high-power beam, commonly referred to as `heat bump', is a challenge frequently faced at synchrotron beamlines. Here, quantitative measurements of the deformations of an externally water-cooled silicon (111) double-crystal monochromator tuned to a photon energy of 17.6 keV are reported. These measurements were made using two-dimensional hard X-ray grating interferometry, a technique that enables in situ at-wavelength wavefront investigations with high angular sensitivity. The observed crystal deformations were of the order of 100 nm in the meridional and 5 nm in the sagittal direction, which lead to wavefront slope errors of up to 4 µrad in the meridional and a few hundred nanoradians in the sagittal direction.
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