X-ray focusing by bent crystals: focal positions as predicted by the crystal lens equation and the dynamical diffraction theory

The location of the beam focus when monochromatic X-ray radiation is diffracted by a thin bent crystal is predicted by the `crystal lens equation'. This equation is derived in a general form valid for Bragg and Laue geometries. It has little utility for diffraction in Laue geometry. The focusing effect in the Laue symmetrical case is discussed using concepts of dynamical theory and an extension of the lens equation is proposed. The existence of polychromatic focusing is considered and the feasibility of matching the polychromatic and monochromatic focal positions is discussed.

Dual-energy crystal-analyzer scheme for spectral tomography

In the present work, a method for adjusting a crystal analyzer to separate two characteristic lines from the spectrum of a conventional X-ray tube for simultaneous registration of tomographic projections is proposed. The experimental implementation of this method using radiation of a molybdenum anode (Kα1, Kβ lines) and a silicon Si(111) crystal analyzer in Laue geometry is presented. Projection images at different wavelengths are separated in space and can be recorded independently for further processing. Potential uses of this scheme are briefly discussed.

Experimentally obtained and computer-simulated X-ray asymmetric eight-beam pinhole topographs for a silicon crystal

In this study, experimentally obtained eight-beam pinhole topographs for a silicon crystal using synchrotron X-rays were compared with computer-simulated images, and were found to be in good agreement. The experiment was performed with an asymmetric all-Laue geometry. However, the X-rays exited from both the bottom and side surfaces of the crystal. The simulations were performed using two different approaches: one was the integration of the n-beam Takagi–Taupin equation, and the second was the fast Fourier transformation of the X-ray amplitudes obtained by solving the eigenvalue problem of the n-beam Ewald–Laue theory as reported by Kohn & Khikhlukha [Acta Cryst. (2016), A72, 349–356] and Kohn [Acta Cryst. (2017), A73, 30–38].

X-ray reflectivity of chemically vapor-deposited diamond single crystals in the Laue geometry

The absolute X-ray reflectivity of chemically vapor-deposited (CVD) single-crystal diamond plates was measured in the Laue geometry in the double-crystal non-dispersive setting with an asymmetric Si beam-conditioner crystal. The measurements were supplemented by rocking-curve topography. The measured reflectivity curves are examined in the framework of the Darwin–Hamilton approach using a set of two independent parameters: the characteristic thickness of mosaic blocks and their average angular misorientation. Owing to strong extinction effects, the width of the reflectivity curves does not directly represent the average misorientation of the blocks. Two different sets of parameters were found for the 111 asymmetric reflection in the two different scattering configurations (beam compression and beam expansion). Analysis of the rocking-curve topographs shows that this discrepancy can be attributed to inhomogeneity of the diamond crystal microstructure.

Bragg–Laue X-ray dynamical diffraction on perfect and deformed lateral crystalline structures

The new dynamical diffraction approach to X-ray diffraction on lateral crystalline structures has been developed to investigate the angular and spatial distribution of wavefields in the case of the Bragg–Laue geometry in non-perfect lateral structures. This approach allows one to calculate reciprocal space maps for deformed lateral crystals having rectangular cross sections for both the transmitted and reflected wavefields. Numerical modelling is performed for crystals with different lateral sizes, thicknesses and deformations. The approach can be used in coherent diffraction imaging to simulate Fraunhofer diffraction patterns produced by relatively large deformed crystals.