A Coherent X-Ray Source Using Transition Radiation
Abstract
The major goal of this work was to establish the commercial feasibility of a compact, quasimonochromatic, collimated x-ray source. We analyzed x ray emission from foil stacks with uniform foil thickness and spacing, known as coherent transition radiation. We found that compared with ordinary, or incoherent radiators, these sources can have reduced angles of emission as well as increased brightness. in addition, the radiation pattern is confined to a narrower range of angles, allowing for more efficient focusing using grazing incidence optics, and resulting in even higher x-ray intensities. Our findings were based on both theoretical and experimental work. We measured x rays in the 1-5 keV energy range, generated by a coherent transition radiator composed of 35 mylar foils. We were also able to focus transition radiation using simple cylindrical optics. Submillimeter spot sizes have been obtained with incoherent radiators. The effects of emittance on the electron beam as well as errors in the foils spacing were studied using computer simulation we developed. The brightness of the source was found to compare favorable with synchrotron radiators.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 29, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA251832
Entities
People
- A. H. Ho
- D. G. Boyers
- M. A. Piestrup
- Qiang Li