Refractive X-ray lens for high pressure experiments at SPring-8

A stacked compound refractive X-ray lens was designed to produce an efficiently focused (ϕ<0.1 mm) beam for high-pressure experiments at SPring-8. High-pressure X-ray diffraction requires an intense, high-energy and monochromatic X-ray beam in order to penetrate the absorptive window of a diamond anvil cell (DAC). Our lens, producing a focal spot of 120×275 μm2 and a peak gain of 12, is well matched to these requirements. It is composed of many plastic chips made by molding, which allows many identical chips to be made precisely. Other advantages of this lens include high throughput, simple energy tunability and easy installation.