Large-aperture prism-array lens for high-energy X-ray focusing

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Materials Science
• X-ray Optics

Background:

• High-energy X-ray focusing is crucial for various scientific and medical applications.
• Existing focusing optics, such as kinoform lenses, have limitations in terms of aperture size and transmission.
• Developing advanced X-ray lenses with improved performance is an ongoing research area.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and fabricate a new prism-array lens for efficient high-energy X-ray focusing.
• To evaluate the focusing performance, transmission, and aperture of the novel lens.
• To compare the performance of the prism-array lens with existing technologies like kinoform lenses.

Main Methods:

• Constructed a prism-array lens from modified parabolic structures, inducing multiple 2π phase variations.
• Fabricated prototype nickel lenses using LIGA technology with a 1.77 mm aperture and 3 m focal length.
• Tested the lens performance using CCD camera and knife-edge scan methods at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility.

Main Results:

• The prism-array lens demonstrated focusing capabilities comparable to parabolic lenses under thin-lens approximation.
• Achieved a focal width of 7.7 µm at 50 keV X-ray energy.
• Observed a photon flux gain of 14, with larger total transmission and effective aperture than compound kinoform lenses.

Conclusions:

• The new prism-array lens design provides effective high-energy X-ray focusing with enhanced performance.
• This lens offers advantages in terms of aperture size, transmission, and photon flux gain over conventional kinoform lenses.
• The demonstrated capabilities suggest potential for advanced X-ray imaging and applications.