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Simulation results for dynamic ray-tracing software are compared with experimental data showing the impact of vibrations on sample-point X-ray beams., A method to simulate beam properties observed at the beamline sample-point in the presence of motion of optical components has been developed at Diamond Light Source. A series of stationary ray-tracing simulations are used to model the impact on the beam stability caused by dynamic motion of optical elements. Ray-tracing simulations using SHADOW3 in OASYS, completed over multiple iterations and stitched together, permit the modelling of a pseudo-dynamic beamline. As beamline detectors operating at higher frequencies become more common, beam stability is crucial. Synchrotron ring upgrades to low-emittance lattices require increased stability of beamlines in order to conserve beam brightness. By simulating the change in beam size and position, an estimate of the impact the motion of various components have on stability is possible. The results presented in this paper focus on modelling the physical vibration of optical elements. Multiple beam parameters can be analysed in succession without manual input. The simulation code is described and the initial results obtained are presented. This method can be applied during beamline design and operation for the identification of optical elements that may introduce large errors in the beam properties at the sample-point.

The design and operational performance of beamline I14, the Hard X-ray Nanoprobe at Diamond Light Source, is presented., The Hard X-ray Nanoprobe beamline, I14, at Diamond Light Source is a new facility for nanoscale microscopy. The beamline was designed with an emphasis on multi-modal analysis, providing elemental mapping, speciation mapping by XANES, structural phase mapping using nano-XRD and imaging through differential phase contrast and ptychography. The 185 m-long beamline operates over a 5 keV to 23 keV energy range providing a ≤50 nm beam size for routine user experiments and a flexible scanning system allowing fast acquisition. The beamline achieves robust and stable operation by imaging the source in the vertical direction and implementing horizontally deflecting primary optics and an overfilled secondary source in the horizontal direction. This paper describes the design considerations, optical layout, aspects of the hardware engineering and scanning system in operation as well as some examples illustrating the beamline performance.

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is a powerful method for measuring the electronic band structure of solids. Diamond Light Source is planning to build a multibend-achromat (MBA) synchrotron – Diamond-II - which will provide an almost diffraction-limited photon source in the vacuum-ultraviolet photon energy range. The improved emittance and higher coherence of MBA synchrotrons means that samples with features smaller than 1 µm can be readily studied using ARPES, provided the beamline is designed to take full advantage of the new photon source. We have developed an analytical method for optimising the optical design of a future Nano-ARPES beamline for Diamond-II. Our method enables one to explore large regions of parameter space for a beamline design in an unbiased and systematic way, with minimal requirements on computing power. We believe that the analytical method presented here will be a useful tool for synchrotron beamline designers, as it allows many beamline characteristics to be simulated quickly while working within any practical limitations.

Ptychography has been developed and routinely employed as an at-wavelength metrology method on a low coherence dipole magnet beamline., Ptychography is a scanning coherent diffraction imaging technique which provides high resolution imaging and complete spatial information of the complex electric field probe and sample transmission function. Its ability to accurately determine the illumination probe has led to its use at modern synchrotrons and free-electron lasers as a wavefront-sensing technique for optics alignment, monitoring and correction. Recent developments in the ptychography reconstruction process now incorporate a modal decomposition of the illuminating probe and relax the restriction of using sources with high spatial coherence. In this article a practical implementation of hard X-ray ptychography from a partially coherent X-ray source with a large number of modes is demonstrated experimentally. A strongly diffracting Siemens star test sample is imaged using the focused beam produced by either a Fresnel zone plate or beryllium compound refractive lens. The recovered probe from each optic is back propagated in order to plot the beam caustic and determine the precise focal size and position. The power distribution of the reconstructed probe modes also allows the quantification of the beams coherence and is compared with the values predicted by a Gaussian–Schell model and the optics exit intensity.

The ideal lens surface for refocusing an already convergent beam is found to be one sheet of a Cartesian oval. This result is applied to the optimal construction of a compound refractive lens for X-ray nanofocusing., The shapes of single lens surfaces capable of focusing divergent and collimated beams without aberration have already been calculated. However, nanofocusing compound refractive lenses (CRLs) require many consecutive lens surfaces. Here a theoretical example of an X-ray nanofocusing CRL with 48 consecutive surfaces is studied. The surfaces on the downstream end of this CRL accept X-rays that are already converging toward a focus, and refract them toward a new focal point that is closer to the surface. This case, so far missing from the literature, is treated here. The ideal surface for aberration-free focusing of a convergent incident beam is found by analytical computation and by ray tracing to be one sheet of a Cartesian oval. An ‘X-ray approximation’ of the Cartesian oval is worked out for the case of small change in index of refraction across the lens surface. The paraxial approximation of this surface is described. These results will assist the development of large-aperture CRLs for nanofocusing.

Nanofocusing compound refractive lenses (CRLs) have short focal lengths and hence require many refracting surfaces to be lined up along the optical axis. The usual spherical or parabolic refracting surfaces introduce aberrations that, in a long CRL, will pile up and lead to unacceptable focal broadening. It has long been known in optics, though not widely in the X-ray synchrotron community, that the ideal lens surface for focusing a point source into a point image lies on a quartic polynomial curve called a Cartesian oval [1]. This is here shown to apply even to the refracting surfaces on the downstream end of a CRL, which accept rays that are already converging toward a focus and bend them toward a new, closer focal point [2]. The following treatment summarizes results recently published [3]. Basic properties of Cartesian ovals will be covered and analytical methods of calculating them will be provided. An “X-ray” approximation of the Cartesian oval will be given for the case of small change in refractive index across the surface, since in this case the general analytical solution becomes numerically unstable. Finally, approximate conic sections will be derived for the paraxial limit. The development of nanofocusing CRLs with large aperture may be guided by these calculations once the technology for fabricating refracting surfaces advances sufficiently.

The short wavelength of X-rays makes them an excellent choice for probing materials on the nanometer scale and for crystallography of sub-micrometer crystallites. The objective of nanofocusing optics is to produce a small, focused beam size in order to obtain the highest X-ray flux on a small sample or as a fine spatial probe. Achieving nanometer-scale focused X-ray beam sizes puts great demands on the optical elements in an X-ray beamline—the optics must balance the requirements to de-magnify the electron beam X-ray source, to reduce the diffraction-limited focus size, and to minimize the contribution to the focus of aberrations in the optics while collecting the maximum X-ray flux into the focused beam. These requirements dictate that an extreme demagnifying geometry should be employed and that high-specification optical elements must be used. Nanofocusing optics has often been added as an upgrade to existing beamlines at Diamond, extending the range of science that can be carried out. Extreme nanofocusing also forms the basis of new beamlines at Diamond, such as the nanoprobe beamline (I14), which aims to provide sub-30-nm-dimension focused X-ray beams for mapping samples at high spatial resolution. The demand for nanometer-scale diffraction-limited X-ray beams is expected to grow at Diamond and requires corresponding advances in X-ray optics to exploit the present source and future lower emittance storage ring sources; for example, the proposed Diamond II upgrade, projected to give a factor 20 emittance reduction.The short wavelength of X-rays makes them an excellent choice for probing materials on the nanometer scale and for crystallography of sub-micrometer crystallites. The objective of nanofocusing optics is to produce a small, focused beam size in order to obtain the highest X-ray flux on a small sample or as a fine spatial probe. Achieving nanometer-scale focused X-ray beam sizes puts great demands on the optical elements in an X-ray beamline—the optics must balance the requirements to de-magnify the electron beam X-ray source, to reduce the diffraction-limited focus size, and to minimize the contribution to the focus of aberrations in the optics while collecting the maximum X-ray flux into the focused beam. These requirements dictate that an extreme demagnifying geometry should be employed and that high-specification optical elements must be used. Nanofocusing optics has often been added as an upgrade to existing beamlines at Diamond, extending the range of science that can be carried out. Extreme nanofocusing also forms the basis of new beamlines at Diamond, such as the nanoprobe beamline (I14), which aims to provide sub-30-nm-dimension focused X-ray beams for mapping samples at high spatial resolution. The demand for nanometer-scale diffraction-limited X-ray beams is expected to grow at Diamond and requires corresponding advances in X-ray optics to exploit the present source and future lower emittance storage ring sources; for example, the proposed Diamond II upgrade, projected to give a factor 20 emittance reduction.

Brilliant beams of hard x-rays, with geometrical cross-sections below 50×50 nm2, are a standard research tool for synchrotron users. With the advent of lower emittance sources, such as NSLSII, Petra III and Max IV, and planned upgraded lattices, such as APS-2, SPING8-II, ESRF II and DLS II, nanofocusing optics operating in transmission mode will become more competitive than they are currently. In general, they suffer from lower efficiency than reflective optics, however they often have easier set-up and alignment, combined with a smaller footprint. Fabrication and exploitation of ultra-short focal refractive lenses has not witnessed the same progress in the last decade as other optics, such as multilayer mirrors and multilayer Laue lenses. This paper reports on current status of high-resolution lithography for fabricating silicon lenses and on proposed designs for a new class of refractive lenses with zero aberrations and good efficiency. The new designs are created with geometrical parameters matching the spatial resolution achieved by modern lithography and silicon etch technology.

Grazing incidence mirrors are used on most X-ray synchrotron beamlines to focus, collimate or suppress harmonics. Increasingly beamline users are demanding variable beam shapes and sizes at the sample position. We have now developed a new concept to rapidly vary the beam size and shape of a focused X-ray beam. The surface of an elliptically figured mirror is divided into a number of laterally separated lanes, each of which is given an additional longitudinal height profile calculated to shape the X-ray beam to a top-hat profile in the focal plane. We have now fabricated two prototype mirrors and present the results of metrology tests and measurements made with one of the mirrors focusing the X-rays on a synchrotron beamline. We envisage that such mirrors could be widely applied to rapid beam-size switching on many synchrotron beamlines.

In this paper the first practical application of kinoform lenses for the X-ray reflectivity characterization of thin layered materials is demonstrated. The focused X-ray beam generated from a kinoform lens, a line of nominal size approximately 50 microm x 2 microm, provides a unique possibility to measure the X-ray reflectivities of thin layered materials in sample scanning mode. Moreover, the small footprint of the X-ray beam, generated on the sample surface at grazing incidence angles, enables one to measure the absolute X-ray reflectivities. This approach has been tested by analyzing a few thin multilayer structures. The advantages achieved over the conventional X-ray reflectivity technique are discussed and demonstrated by measurements.

The unprecedented brilliance achieved by third-generation synchrotron sources and the availability of improved optics have opened up new opportunities for the study of materials at the micrometre and nanometre scale. Focusing the synchrotron radiation to smaller and smaller beams is having a huge impact on a wide research area at synchrotrons. The key to the exploitation of the improved sources is the development of novel optics that deliver narrow beams without loss of brilliance and coherence. Several types of synchrotron focusing optics are successfully fabricated using advanced miniaturization techniques. Kinoform refractive lenses are being developed for hard X-ray beamlines, and the first test results at Diamond are discussed in this paper.

X-ray compound refractive lenses (CRL) are becoming a widespread tool for the generation of microfocus spot sizes at synchrotron beamlines. The calculation of their performance by means of ray-tracing is useful for a rapid estimation of flux, resolution and focusing properties achievable in a beamline, when other optics are present, or simply to study the lens acceptance and focusing in the presence of a particular bending magnet, wiggler or undulator X-ray source. The ray-tracing method presented in this paper has been used to calculate the efficiency of beryllium CRL's using, for the instrument layout, realistic source size and divergence, and usual optics like perfect crystal monochromators. It is shown that the intensity transmitted by the lens, the effective aperture and the gain are in good agreement with analytical formulas. Additional information provided when running the program are the precise shape of beam at the focus, and at any position along the optical axis. For instance the intensity distribution at the CRL entrance and exit planes allows a comparison between the effective and the geometrical apertures. Finally, the method provides a precise value for the lens focal distance, which depends on the CRL length.

We studied the plastic deformation of a Cu monochromator loaded in tension along the [1 1 0] direction between 0 and 4% equivalent shear strain. We tracked the changes in the orientation and mosaicity of the specimen at several locations simultaneously by analysing the neutron spectra transmitted by the sample. We found that an initial misalignment between different regions of the specimen decreases as deformation proceeds, to reach a minimum at 2% shear strain. On the other hand, the mosaicity of most reflections changes linearly from 10 to 30 min, except for the [2 0 0] reflection, which presents a more complex behaviour. The experiments used a novel transmission technique involving a polychromatic neutron beam and a pixellated time of flight detector. The technique exploits sharp dips in intensity present in the transmitted neutron spectrum, corresponding to the neutrons removed from the beam after being diffracted by the crystal planes.

Elemental analysis by X-ray fluorescence and particle induced X-ray emission is applied to the study of several Mesoamerican mural samples containing blue pigments. The most characteristic blue pigment is Maya blue, a very stable organo-clay complex original from Maya culture and widely used in murals, pottery and sculptures in a vast region of Mesoamerica during the pre-hispanic time (from VIII century) and during the colonization until 1580. The mural samples come from six different archaeological sites (four pre-hispanic and two from XVI century colonial convents). The correlation between the presence of some elements and the pigment colour is discussed. From the comparative study of the elemental concentration, some conclusions are drawn on the nature of the pigments and the technology used.

Two assembled germanium crystals, produced for use as neutron monochromators, are characterized by means of neutron and X-ray diffraction. The neutron and synchrotron experimental data (reflectivity profiles and topographs) are compared with calculations based on analytical models and Monte Carlo simulations. Our results show the limits of the standard theories and indicate that full Monte Carlo simulations can be a valid tool for interpreting real crystal reflectivities.

We developed an original Monte Carlo algorithm for the simulation of Bragg diffraction by mosaic, bent and gradient crystals. It has practical applications, as it can be used for simulating imperfect crystals (monochromators, analyzers and perhaps samples) in neutron ray-tracing packages, like McStas. The code we describe here provides a detailed description of the particle interaction with the microscopic homogeneous regions composing the crystal, therefore it can be used also for the calculation of quantities having a conceptual interest, as multiple scattering, or for the interpretation of experiments aiming at characterizing crystals, like diffraction topographs.

X-ray reflectivity curves at 20 keV photon energy of alpha-quartz spherically curved crystals have been measured using a micrometric synchrotron beam at the ESRF BM5. Six thin quartz crystals samples with curvature radii of 150 and 250 mm have been studied. Experimental results are compared with diffraction profile calculations using a lamellar model and a good agreement is found.

A full wave propagation of X-rays from source to sample at a storage ring beamline requires simulation of the electron beam source and optical elements in the beamline. The finite emittance source causes the appearance of partial coherence in the wave field. Consequently, the wavefront cannot be treated exactly with fully coherent wave propagation or fully incoherent ray tracing. We have used the wavefront code Synchrotron Radiation Workshop (SRW) to perform partially coherent wavefront propagation using a parallel computing cluster at the Diamond Light Source. Measured mirror profiles have been used to correct the wavefront for surface errors.

A novel, compact, large field, and spectrally tunable imaging x-ray microscope is presented. It is based on the use of an isotropic point x-ray source and a spherically curved crystal. The x-ray beam intensity is modulated by the object attenuation, then monochromatized and enlarged using a spherical crystal and, finally, imaged using a detector downstream from the crystal. We demonstrate by ray tracing simulations that this system allows microscopy studies with high spatial resolution, high magnification ratios, and large field of view. Microscopes using this model can be easily built using different x-ray sources, like conventional x-ray tube generators, x rays emitted by laser-generated plasmas or x-pinch plasmas, and also synchrotron radiation when used in combination with other condenser optics. Preliminary experiments are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed setup. High resolution (∼4 μm) monochromatic (δλ/λ∼10−5–10−3) images over a large field of view (few mm2) were recorded in ...

An upgraded version of the McStas Monochromator-curved module is presented. The new component, called Monochromator-reflect, is based on the use of input files for interpolating the neutron reflection and transmission probabilities according to the theoretical reflectivity of the crystal. These probabilities depend on the energy and angle at the crystal surface and also on the crystal mosaicity, geometry, material scattering cross-section, attenuation coefficient, and Bragg planes. We present details of the algorithm and definitions which are essential for a correct use of the module and show the improvements that it offers.

The neutron optics package (NOP) is a collection of codes for the computation of reactor spectra, neutron reflectivity of crystals, mirrors and multilayers and other quantities as cross-sections, attenuation in materials and refractive index. These calculations rely on the use of a database of materials cross-sections and crystal structures. NOP is freely distributed as an extension of the X-ray package XOP (Sanchez del Rio, Dejus, SPIE Proceedings 3448 (1998) 340), from which it inherits the user interface and code structure. The NOP package can be used for estimating the reflectivity of optical elements as crystals and multilayers. The NOP output can also be used as an input for neutron instrument ray-tracing modules.

The neutron optics laboratory at ILL carries out an innovative research program in various fields of neutron optics with the aim of developing new and improved tools for neutron instrumentation. An overview of some recent highlights is presented, indicating the breadth of the potential applications.

Modern synchrotron sources have provided for decades intense beams of photons over a large energy spectrum. The availability of improved optics and detectors has opened up new opportunities for the study of matter at the micrometre and nanometre scale in many disciplines. Whilst exploitation of micro-focused beams occurs almost daily in many beamlines, the production of beams of 100 nm is achieved on few instruments which use specialised optics. Refractive lenses, zone plates, curved mirrors, multilayers, and multilayer Laue lenses, can all focus x-rays to less than 50 nm under strict beam stability conditions. Focusing the synchrotron radiation to beam sizes smaller than 10 nm is considered the ultimate goal for the current decade. Silicon micro-technology has so far provided some of the most advanced x-ray refractive lenses; we report on design and characterisation of a novel silicon kinoform lens that is capable of delivering nano-beams with high efficiency.

Aspherical surfaces required for focusing collimated and divergent synchrotron beams using a single refractive element (lens) are reviewed. The Cartesian oval, a lens shape that produces perfect point-to-point focusing for monochromatic radiation, is studied in the context of X-ray beamlines. Optical surfaces that approximate ideal shapes are compared. Results are supported by ray-tracing simulations. Elliptical lenses, rather than parabolic, are preferred for nano­focusing X-rays because of the higher peak and lower tails in the intensity distribution. Cartesian ovals will improve the gain when using high-demagnification lenses of high numerical aperture.

Three-dimensional (3D) silicon sensors offer potential advantages over standard planar sensors for radiation hardness in future high energy physics experiments and reduced charge-sharing for X-ray applications, but may introduce inefficiencies due to the columnar electrodes. These inefficiencies are probed by studying variations in response across a unit pixel cell in a 55μm pitch double-sided 3D pixel sensor bump bonded to TimePix and Medipix2 readout ASICs. Two complementary characterisation techniques are discussed: the first uses a custom built telescope and a 120GeV pion beam from the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) at CERN; the second employs a novel technique to illuminate the sensor with a micro-focused synchrotron X-ray beam at the Diamond Light Source, UK. For a pion beam incident perpendicular to the sensor plane an overall pixel efficiency of 93.0±0.5% is measured. After a 10o rotation of the device the effect of the columnar region becomes negligible and the overall efficiency rises to 99.8±0.5%. The double-sided 3D sensor shows significantly reduced charge sharing to neighbouring pixels compared to the planar device. The charge sharing results obtained from the X-ray beam study of the 3D sensor are shown to agree with a simple simulation in which charge diffusion is neglected. The devices tested are found to be compatible with having a region in which no charge is collected centred on the electrode columns and of radius 7.6±0.6μm. Charge collection above and below the columnar electrodes in the double-sided 3D sensor is observed. © 2011 IOP Publishing Ltd and SISSA.

A Test beamline B16 has been built on the 3 GeV Diamond synchrotron radiation source. The beamline covers a wide photon energy range from 2 to 25 keV. The beamline is highly flexible and versatile in terms of the available beam size (a micron to 100 mm) and the range of energy resolution and photon flux; by virtue of its several operational modes, and the different inter‐changeable instruments available in the experiments hutch. Diverse experimental configurations can be flexibly configured using a five‐circle diffractometer, a versatile optics test bench, and a suite of detectors. Several experimental techniques including reflectivity, diffraction and imaging are routinely available. Details of the beamline and its measured performance are presented.

In this article we report on the use micro-focus synchrotron X-ray radiation and pion beams to compare the detection efficiencies and charge sharing properties of novel 3D detectors to that of the current planar technology. Detector substrates are bump-bonded to the Medipx2 and Timepix chips. 55μm square pixel maps of the detection efficiencies have been produced using X-ray and MIP beams. For X-rays, a drop of 3-4% detection efficiency over the pixel area was found due to the central electrode. The corner electrodes show no degradation in efficiency compared to that of the planar device. For MIPs a drop of 0.5% in efficiency due to the central electrode was observed. Evidence of a considerable reduction in charge sharing in the 3D detectors compared to the planar devices is also shown. ©2009 IEEE.

The Diamond Optics & Metrology Group and the collaborators at the STFC Central Microstructure Facility have initiated a program for the design and fabrication of in-line micro- and nano-focusing optics for synchrotron radiation beamlines. The first type of optics fabricated is a kinoform lens in silicon on the same model proposed by K. Evans- Lutterodt et al [Opt. Expr. 11 (2003) 919.]. The fabrication utilised ultra high resolution electron beam lithographic patterning of an electron sensitive SU8 polymer and deep reactive ion etching of silicon. The first test of the focusing properties was performed at the ESRF BM5 optics beamline. In this paper we present details on the design and fabrication, and discuss the test results.

The 124 beamline is dedicated to the measurement of diffraction data from micro‐crystals of macromolecules. The optical design gives high versatility in selecting the beam size at the sample and at the detector through the use of two pairs of Kirkpatrick‐Baez arranged mirrors. The end‐station is similarly designed to allow the optimization of the final signal‐to‐noise ratio of the diffraction measurements. The layout and key properties of the optics and end‐station components are presented.

Grazing incidence mirrors are a standard optic for focusing X-rays. Active mirrors, whose surface profile can be finely adjusted, allow control of beam shape and size at the sample. However, progress towards their routine use for beam shaping has been hampered by the strong striations in reflected beams away from the focal plane. Re-entrant (partly concave and partly convex) surface modifications are proposed for shaping X-ray beams to a top-hat in the focal plane while reducing the striations caused by unavoidable polishing errors. A method for constructing such surfaces with continuous height and slope (but only piecewise continuous curvature) will be provided. Ray tracing and wave propagation calculations confirm its effectiveness. A mirror system is proposed allowing vertical beam sizes in the range 0.5 to 10μm. A prototype will be fabricated and is expected to have applications on many synchrotron X-ray beamlines.

A dedicated optics and metrology team has been assembled at Diamond Light Source to take responsibility for designing, procuring and testing a wide range of state-of-the-art x-ray optics, providing the Diamond beamlines with effective solutions to condition and focus synchrotron light. Advanced efforts are underway to design and construct a cleanroom laboratory to house a suite of metrology instruments. This will complement the Test beamline, used for a wide range of tasks including x-ray optics and detector developments, and proof of principle experiments. In collaboration with industrial and academic partners, these experimental facilities will be used to measure and develop the next generation of x-ray optics, and help the Diamond beamlines to achieve world leading performance. Details of the planning and early construction phase of the Metrology laboratory are presented, and preliminary examples of x-ray metrology measurements and research programmes.

We present new McStas simulations of the back-scattering thermal neutron spectrometer IN13 to evaluate the advantages of a new temperature gradient monochromator relative to a conventional one. The simulations show that a flux gain up to a factor 7 can be obtained with just a 10% loss in energy resolution and a 20% increase in beam spot size at the sample. The results also indicate that a moderate applied temperature gradient ( Δ T ≃ 16 K ) is sufficient to obtain this significant flux gain.

We present a study of the Mg K-edge on sepiolite and palygorskite performed at the INFM BEAR beamline at Elettra synchrotron light source (Trieste). These two clays, although having very similar structures, show some different features in their near-edge. Mg is in octahedral coordination with oxygens, hydroxyl groups or water, for both palygorskite and sepiolite. The differences found in the near-edge seem to reflect the fact that, on average, an Mg atom in palygorskite ‘‘sees’’ less Mg in higher coordination shells than sepiolite.

The Neutron Optics Package NOP is a collection of codes for the computation of reactor spectra, neutron reflectivity of crystals, mirrors and multilayers and other quantities as cross-sections, attenuation in materials and refractive index. These calculations rely on the use of a databse of materials cross-sections and crystal structures. NOP is freely distributed as an extension of the x-ray package XOP [M. Sanchez del Rio and R.J. Dejus, SPIE proceedings 3448, 340, 1998.], from which it inherites the user interface and code structure. The NOP package can be used for estimating the reflectivity of optical elements as crystals and multilayers. The NOP output can also be used as an input for neutron instrument ray-tracing modules.

We present a Monte-Carlo algorithm for the simulation of Bragg diffraction from imperfect crystals that are used for neutron analysers and monochromators. The algorithm is used in ray-tracing simulation of neutron instruments but can also be used for x-rays. This method performs a detailed description of the particle interaction with the microscopic regions composing the crystal. It computes important quantities that cannot be calculated with standard models, as the number of multiple scattering events, and diffraction topographs. We also discuss applications of this method to the analysis of x-ray data from mosaic copper crystals.

Some points concerning the characteristics of the X-ray simulation code SHADOW [Welnak et al. (1994). Nucl. Instrum. Methods, A347, 344-347] are clarified which are not correctly mentioned by Yamada et al. [J. Synchrotron Rad. (2001), 8, 1047-1050]. It is shown that, contrary to the Authors' statement, some functionality of their new program is not original. In particular, we show that SHADOW can deal correctly with crystal monochromators.

Diamond possesses many extreme properties that make it an ideal material for fabricating nanofocusing x-ray optics. Refractive lenses made from diamond are able to focus x-ray radiation with high efficiency but without compromising the brilliance of the beam. Electron-beam lithography and deep reactive-ion etching of silicon substrates have been used in a transfer-molding technique to fabricate diamond optics with vertical and smooth sidewalls. Latest generation compound refractive lenses have seen an improvement in the quality and uniformity of the optical structures, resulting in an increase in their focusing ability. Synchrotron beamline tests of two recent lens arrays, corresponding to two different diamond morphologies, are described. Focal line-widths down to 210 nm, using a nanocrystalline diamond lens array and a beam energy of E = 11 keV, and 230 nm, using a microcrystalline diamond lens at E = 15 keV, have been measured using the Diamond Light Source Ltd. B16 beamline. This focusing prowess is combined with relatively high transmission through the lenses compared with silicon refractive designs and other diffractive optics.

Diamond has unique properties which make it the ideal material for use in synchrotron instrumentation. X-ray optics made of diamond are almost transparent, they possess strength, and are subject to very low thermal expansion; therefore they will be able to withstand the powerful beams generated by fourth-generation light sources without compromising brilliance. For this reason, several groups are attempting fabrication of refractive lenses and zone plates made of diamond. Lithography and, in general, microfabrication technology, are the ultimate tools for the innovation of synchrotron focusing optics. We propose to combine modern silicon microtechnology with advanced deposition methods to fabricate nanocrystalline-diamond lenses for third- and fourth-generation synchrotron sources. The fabrication method is described here and microfocusing synchrotron tests are illustrated.

Progress in synchrotron radiation instrumentation and successful fabrication of novel x-ray optics enables probing the matter at micro- and nano-scales from virtually any sciences – from biomedical, environmental to material sciences. In-line, compact focusing optics, based on refraction, are designed and fabricated for use in hard and very hard x-ray beamlines at Diamond. The first test results at a Diamond beamline, using micro-focusing silicon and germanium lenses, are discussed in this paper.

Several optical configurations aiming to create images of sub-millimetre objects with magnification from I to 100 have been experimentally tested at the ESRF BM5 beamline. A Kirkpatrick-Baez (KB) system is used for focusing the beam into a 30 microns spot and then direct projection images are recorded. Some results using a spherical crystal downstream from the KB system are presented. The possibility to focus the synchrotron. beam into a 40 microns spot using an spherical crystal in quasi-normal incidence is demonstrated and its use for projection microscopy is discussed.