Development and evaluation of x-ray refractive lens for high-energy x-ray focusing

An x-ray compound refractive lens (CRL) is suited for high resolution imaging with hard x-rays. We produced several prototype CRLs by machining holes in polystyrene and aluminum rods. We exposed imaging plates, positioned at various distances from the lens end, to hard x-rays that had passed through the CLR. Using this method, we confirmed the refraction of the hard x-rays. In this study, we improved the CRL and investigated the influence on x-rays; by machining a groove on a board we could increase the amount of transmitted x-rays. The developed CRLs obtained an increase in transmitted x-rays of 10-100 times which is enough to be used in x-ray radiography. The focusing effects of the CRLs increased with decreasing x-ray energy. (author)