Focusing Systems for X-Rays

Use of high-energy photons (“X-rays”) has become a common feature in many medical and synchrotron applications. Unlike light in the visible spectrum, X-rays only interact weakly with most matter, which makes the design of focusing elements more challenging than for other sections of the wavelength spectrum. Below we demonstrate two approaches to tackle this task, employing compound lenses and elliptical mirrors under grazing incidence. A fast physical optics simulation of these systems with the modeling and design software VirtualLab Fusion allows us to investigate their performance on the basis of focal length and measured spot size.