Open AccessPiezo-modulated active grating for selecting X-ray pulses separated by one nanosecond
Author(s) -
Simone Vadilonga,
Ivo Žižak,
Д. В. Рощупкин,
Е. В. Емелин,
W. Leitenberger,
Matthias Rössle,
Alexei Erko
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.438570
Subject(s) - optics , grating , materials science , duty cycle , reflection (computer programming) , nanosecond , synchrotron radiation , synchrotron , bragg's law , beam (structure) , diffraction grating , crystal (programming language) , diffraction , optoelectronics , voltage , laser , physics , quantum mechanics , computer science , programming language
We present a novel method of temporal modulation of X-ray radiation for time resolved experiments. To control the intensity of the X-ray beam, the Bragg reflection of a piezoelectric crystal is modified using comb-shaped electrodes deposited on the crystal surface. Voltage applied to the electrodes induces a periodic deformation of the crystal that acts as a diffraction grating, splitting the original Bragg reflection into several satellites. A pulse of X-rays can be created by rapidly switching the voltage on and off. In our prototype device the duty cycle was limited to ∼1 ns by the driving electronics. The prototype can be used to generate X-ray pulses from a continuous source. It can also be electrically correlated to a synchrotron light source and be activated to transmit only selected synchrotron pulses. Since the device operates in a non-resonant mode, different activation patterns and pulse durations can be achieved.