An achromatic X-ray lens

Lens focuses X-rays of different wavelengths

28 July 2022

A lens that can bring X-rays with a range of different wavelengths to a sharp focus at a single point has been developed.

Lenses in conventional cameras and microscopes contain correcting elements that ensure that different colours are focused at the same spot.

However, it hasn’t been possible to apply the same principle to X-ray lenses because materials tend to have a much lower ability to spread radiation of different wavelengths in the X-ray region. Consequently, a large portion of an X-ray beam has to be discarded in order to obtain a sharp image.

Now, a team led by researchers from Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland has developed an X-ray lens that can correct for the spreading that occurs with different wavelengths. They achieved this by using specially designed microstructures created by a 3D printer.

Since X-rays can image smaller structures that visible light this will open up exciting opportunities in areas such as microchip and battery research.

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References

1. Nature Communications 13, 1305 (2022). doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-28902-8