Development of variable‐magnification X‐ray Bragg optics

A novel X‐ray Bragg optics is proposed for variable‐magnification of an X‐ray beam. This X‐ray Bragg optics is composed of two magnifiers in a crossed arrangement, and the magnification factor, M, is controlled through the azimuth angle of each magnifier. The basic properties of the X‐ray optics such as the magnification factor, image transformation matrix and intrinsic acceptance angle are described based on the dynamical theory of X‐ray diffraction. The feasibility of the variable‐magnification X‐ray Bragg optics was verified at the vertical‐wiggler beamline BL‐14B of the Photon Factory. For X‐ray Bragg magnifiers, Si(220) crystals with an asymmetric angle of 14° were used. The magnification factor was calculated to be tunable between 0.1 and 10.0 at a wavelength of 0.112 nm. At various magnification factors (M≥ 1.0), X‐ray images of a nylon mesh were observed with an air‐cooled X‐ray CCD camera. Image deformation caused by the optics could be corrected by using a 2 × 2 transformation matrix and bilinear interpolation method. Not only absorption‐contrast but also edge‐contrast due to Fresnel diffraction was observed in the magnified images.