IKBFU Researcher Develops Highly Accurate Method for Calculating X-ray Propagation

Prof. Dr Sergey Kshevetskii, a researcher from the Institute of Physics, Mathematics and Information Technology of the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, together with Dr Pawel Wojda, a researcher from Gdansk University of Technology (Poland), developed a highly accurate method of computation of X-ray waves propagation.

An X-ray microscope allows scientists to look at such tiny objects as viruses and molecules, which are invisible to optical microscopes. It allows studying a surface and an internal structure of an object, taking a picture of it and transferring the picture to data storage.

According to Prof. Dr Sergey Kshevetskii, the research presents a high-precision method for solving X-ray optic problems with control reliability and accuracy.

The results of the study were published in the Journal of Synchrotron Radiation. Full article title is ”Oriented Gaussian beams for high‐accuracy computation with accuracy control of X‐ray propagation through a multi‐lens system”.

Prof. Dr Sergey Kshevetskii, a researcher from the Institute of Physics, Mathematics and Information Technology (IKBFU):

We have developed a highly accurate method for calculating X-ray propagation and tools for controlling the calculation accuracy. Within this approach, the propagating wave is represented as a superposition of oriented Gaussian beams. The direction of wave propagation in each Gaussian beam agrees with the local direction of propagation of the X‐ray wavefront. When calculating the propagation of X‐ray waves through lenses, the thin lens approximation is applied. In this approximation, the wave parameters change discontinuously when the wave passes through a lens; the corresponding explicit formulae are derived. The theory is applied to highly accurate calculation of the focusing of X‐rays by a system of many beryllium lenses. Time will tell how promising our method is.