An achromatic X-ray lens.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35288546.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-28902-8 and PMC identifier 8921332.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Diffractive and refractive optical elements have become an integral part of most high-resolution X-ray microscopes. However, they suffer from inherent chromatic aberration. This has to date restricted their use to narrow-bandwidth radiation, essentially limiting such high-resolution X-ray microscopes to high-brightness synchrotron sources. Similar to visible light optics, one way to tackle chromatic aberration is by combining a focusing and a defocusing optic with different dispersive powers. Here, we present the first successful experimental realisation of an X-ray achromat, consisting of a focusing diffractive Fresnel zone plate (FZP) and a defocusing refractive lens (RL). Using scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) and ptychography, we demonstrate sub-micrometre achromatic focusing over a wide energy range without any focal adjustment. This type of X-ray achromat will overcome previous limitations set by the chromatic aberration of diffractive and refractive optics and paves the way for new applications in spectroscopy and microscopy at broadband X-ray tube sources.