Derivation of closed-form ellipsoidal X-ray mirror shapes from Fermat's principle

Abstract

Ellipsoidal and plane-elliptical surfaces are widely used as reflective, point-to-point focusing elements in many optical systems, including X-ray optics. Here the classical optical path function approach of Fermat is applied to derive a closed-form expression for these surfaces that are uniquely described by the object and image distances and the angle of incidence at a point on a mirror surface. A compact description facilitates design, modeling, fabrication, and testing to arbitrary accuracy. Congruent surfaces in two useful coordinate systems — a system centered on the ellipsoid's axes of symmetry and a mirror-centered or `vertex' system with the surface tangent to the xy plane at the mirror's center — are presented. Expressions for the local slope and radii of curvature are derived from the result, and the first several terms of the Maclauren series expansion are provided about the mirror center.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jun 20, 2022
Source ID
10.1107/s1600577522005793

Entities

People

  • Kenneth A. Goldberg

Organizations

  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Electromagnetic Wave Scattering and Antenna Radiation Engineering
  • Optical Fiber Sensing and Electromagnetic Propagation.