Design and application of a zone plate monochromator for laboratory soft x-ray sources

In this article we describe the test of a zone plate monochromator for a la boratory soft x-ray source which is a laser produced plasma on a liquid jet target. The monochromator consists of a zone plate and a pinhole. Due to t he special zone plate used (condensor zone plate KZP7) the monochromator is particularly suitable for laboratory sources since it collects a relativel y large solid angle in the present setup. Depending upon the diameter of th e pinhole a monochromaticity of up to lambda/Delta lambda =600 can be achie ved. The usefulness of the linear monochromator was proven on the basis of a filter transmission measurement. The monochromator can be used for severa l applications. In particular it is suitable for time-resolved x-ray absorp tion spectroscopy and pump and probe experiments. The use for such investig ations is discussed. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.