{"id":20826,"date":"2025-06-28T03:53:07","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T03:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/20826\/"},"modified":"2025-06-28T03:53:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T03:53:07","slug":"wafer-lens-changes-x-ray-beam-size-by-more-than-3400-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/20826\/","title":{"rendered":"Wafer lens changes X-ray beam size by more than 3,400 times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wafer<\/p>\n

Schematic of the ultrathin monolithic bimorph mirror. (a) A photograph of the mirror substrate comparison with a Japanese 100-yen coin. (b) Deformation mechanism. (c) Variable-beam-size optical system. Credit: Scientific Reports (2025). DOI: 10.1038\/s41598-025-05019-8<\/p>\n

Using only a single-crystal piezoelectric thin wafer of lithium niobate (LN) instead of the usual two-part structure, a group from Nagoya University in Japan has created a deformable mirror that changes X-ray beam size by more than 3,400 times. This improved tuning range enhances both imaging and analysis, especially for the X-rays used in industry.<\/p>\n

Their technique is based on LN, a material that has piezoelectricity, meaning that it changes its surface shape in response to voltage. Traditional X-ray mirrors are rigid and resistant to being deformed, making it difficult to adapt them to changing experimental conditions in real time, but the new technique can significantly change beam<\/a> size, making it useful for a range of situations encountered in industry.<\/p>\n

The study is published<\/a> in the journal Scientific Reports.<\/p>\n

“Our technique significantly changes beam size, making it possible to observe samples in various ways,” Takato Inoue from the Graduate School of Engineering Department of Materials Physics explained. “We achieved a 3,400-times larger tuning range, which lets users first perform a wide-field overview of a sample and then zoom in on specific regions of interest, massively streamlining workflows.”<\/p>\n

By changing the shape of the mirror, the operator can fine-tune the X-ray to capture an overview of the material or focus on specific areas of interest. However, this is difficult in practice because the mirror often requires two parts to control the size of the beam, limiting its thinness. Instead, making a mirror with a single crystal<\/a> would allow researchers to maintain thinness and optimize performance.<\/p>\n