Full-field x-ray fluorescence imaging microscope with a Wolter mirror

Full-field x-ray fluorescence (XRF) and transmission x-ray microscopic images were obtained with a Wolter-type mirror (10x magnification). A synchrotron radiation white beam (4-20 keV) from a bending magnet beamline at the Photon Factory was used to obtain XRF images and a conventional laboratory x-ray source (8.04 keV) was used to obtain transmission x-ray images. The effects of the coherent and the incoherent scattering x rays on the contrast of an XRF image were estimated. The scattering angle between the incidence x ray and the optical axis of the XRF microscope should be 90 degrees to obtain the highest contrast image when the incidence x ray is horizontally polarized. Observation of small metallic inclusions in the synthesized diamond showed that the contrast of the XRF image was better than that of the transmission x-ray image. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748(00)01403-9].