General Competition (April 1992)

X-Ray and Neutron Focusing and Collimating Optics

Sponsor: X-Ray Optical Systems, Inc.

• Project Performance Period: 6/1/1992 - 5/31/1996
• Total project (est.): $2,320,000.00
• Requested ATP funds: $1,949,000.00

The penetrating power of x rays and neutrons which makes them so useful in medicine and materials science also has been the source of a major limitation. Whereas beams of light can be reflected, channeled, focused, collimated, and otherwise manipulated to shine just the right amount of light on the just the right spot, until recently x rays and neutron beams could not be so easily controlled. In the late '80s, however, the I.V. Kurchatov Institute in Moscow developed a technique for capturing and channeling x rays using bundles of extremely thin glass capillaries: if the curvature is kept below a certain critical limit, the x rays reflect off the surfaces of the tubes. Laboratory research has demonstrated that capillary arrays can capture divergent or parallel x rays, and focus or collimate them. An array can also redirect an x-ray beam, change its cross section, and even filter out x rays above a given energy. Some preliminary results at NIST show that neutrons can be handled similarly. Capillary optics for x rays and neutron beams could have a major impact in medical imaging, medical therapy, material analysis, and industrial processing. Radiography and radiology equipment could be smaller, less expensive, more reliable, and provide better results at lower doses. Commercial development will require the resolution of a number of uncertainties such as design constraints, manufacturing control, and long-term reliability of capillary arrays. To resolve these uncertainties, X-Ray Optical Systems will develop computer models of capillary arrays, investigate alternate materials, manufacturing capabilities for capillary arrays, and the effects of radiation damage on the materials.

For project information:

John Linford, (518) 442-5250

ATP Project Manager

Thomas Lettieri, (301) 975-3496
thomas.lettieri@nist.gov