Design and imaging performance of achromatic diffractive/refractive X-ray and Gamma-ray Fresnel lenses

Abstract

Achromatic combinations of a diffractive Phase Fresnel Lens and a refractive correcting element have been proposed for X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy and for microlithography, but considerations of absorption often dictate that the refractive component be given a stepped profile, resulting in a double Fresnel lens. The imaging performance of corrected Fresnel lenses, with and without `stepping' is investigated and the trade-off between resolution and useful bandwidth in different circumstances is discussed. Provided the focal ratio is large, correction lenses made of low atomic number materials can be used with X-rays in the range approximately 10--100 keV without stepping. The use of stepping extends the possibility of correction to higher aperture systems, to energies as low as a few kilo electron volts and to gamma-rays of $\sim$ mega electron volt energy.