About the cover
February 2006 Volume 2 No 2
Recently developed high-intensity, coherent X-ray sources — such as highharmonic-generation lasers and X-ray free-electron lasers — offer great potential for studying matter at the atomic scale. But to take full advantage of this opportunity, significant improvements will be needed in the optics used to manipulate the radiation from these sources. To this end, Keith Nugent and colleagues report a technique for imaging the optical field at the focus of an Xray lens that does not require the use of secondary X-ray optics. This technique could not only reduce uncertainties in the characterization and development of X-ray optics, but, in certain contexts, it could also eliminate the need for lenses altogether.
