On evaluating x-ray imaging crystals with synchrotron radiation.

Area of Science:

• Plasma diagnostics
• X-ray optics
• Materials science

Background:

• Bent crystals are used in plasma diagnostics, diffracting X-rays across the entire crystal.
• Analyzing the overall spectrum or image of diffracted X-rays is insufficient for identifying individual crystal performance issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a method for measuring X-ray diffraction locally with high resolution.
• To identify specific reasons for performance variations in bent crystals used for plasma diagnostics.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an x-ray topography setup at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) beamline 1-BM.
• Employed a specially designed quartz conditioning crystal to improve radiation quality.

Main Results:

• The new method enabled local diffraction measurements with necessary resolution.
• Standard synchrotron X-ray optics were insufficient for this task.
• Worrisome diffraction features were eliminated, and minor fabrication flaws became highly visible.

Conclusions:

• Local X-ray diffraction measurement with a specialized setup provides superior insight into bent crystal performance.
• This technique is crucial for understanding and improving crystals used in plasma diagnostics.