X-ray wavefront analysis and optics characterization with a grating interferometer

Abstract

We present an interferometric method to measure the shape of a hard-x-ray wavefront. The interferometer consists of a phase grating as a beam splitter and an absorption grating as a transmission mask for the detector. The device can be used to measure wavefront shape gradients corresponding to radii of curvature as large as several dozens of meters, with a lateral resolution of a few microns. This corresponds to detected wavefront distortions of approximately 10^-12 m or λ/100. The device was used with 12.4 keV x rays to measure the slope error and height profile of an x-ray mirror. Surface slope variations with periods ranging from less than 1 mm to more than 1 m can be detected with an accuracy better than 0.1 <em>μ</em>rad.