U.S. Department of Energy

Matthieu C Chollet

Bernhard W Adams

A material preferably in crystal form having a low atomic number such as beryllium (Z=4) provides for the focusing of x-rays in a continuously variable manner. The material is provided with plural spaced curvilinear, optically matched slots and/or recesses through which an x-ray beam is directed. The focal length of the material may be decreased or increased by increasing or decreasing, respectively, the number of slots (or recesses) through which the x-ray beam is directed, while fine tuning of the focal length is accomplished by rotation of the material so as to change the path length of the x-ray beam through the aligned cylindrical slots. X-ray analysis of a fixed point in a solid material may be performed by scanning the energy of the x-ray beam while rotating the material to maintain the beam's focal point at a fixed point in the specimen undergoing analysis.

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Matthieu C Chollet