OBSERVATION OF INTERFERENCE EFFECTS AT THE FOCUS OF AN X-RAY LENS

During an experiment on synchrotron radiation focusing with a capillar y lens, an interference structure was observed at the focal spot of th e lens, despite the fact that the lens capillary diameter is about a m illion times greater than the wavelength of the X-ray photons (600 mu m and 8 Angstrom, respectively). The width of the central peak is clos e to the capillary diameter. At the same time the synchrotron radiatio n concentration increased by more than one hundred times. Analysis sho ws that the capillary lens acts in many respects as a macroscopic crys tal. The observed effect is accounted for by wave theory. This phenome non may have important practical effects in many fields.