Refractive X-ray Lenses for Directed-Energy Applications

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop refractive x-ray lenses for medical, industrial, scientific, and directed-energy applications. Previously, ordinary optical refractive lenses were assumed to not work at x-ray wavelengths because refractive effects were very small. Reflective and grazing angle techniques are usually limited to the soft x-ray region of the spectrum. Recently, multiple small cylindrical holes acting as quasi-lenses have been shown by Adelphi and a another group to focus moderate x-ray energies (8-14 keV). These quasi-lenses have reduced apertures because of the cylindrical shape and x-ray absorption at their thickest parts. We propose to develop a compound refractive lens (CRL) with larger effective apertures capable of operating at harder x-ray wavelengths where medical, industrial and directed energy applications abound. To improve the CRL's gain and achieve shorter focal length CRLs and two-dimensional focusing, we will investigate optimum materials and hole parameters for the lens array and achieve an ideal lens' surface curvature. These refractive optics will have the advantages of small size, in-line operation, better cooling efficiency and fewer perturbations due to surface roughness than conventional grazing-angle x-ray optics.