Kirkpatrick-Baez optics for a sub-mu m synchrotron X-ray microbeam and its applications to X-ray analysis

A synchrotron X-ray microprobe system based on Kirkpatrick-Baez optics has been developed using X-rays from a multipole wiggler at the Photon Factory to achieve a beam size of less than 1 mu m with a sufficient photon flux. Either a double-crystal or a synthetic multilayer monochromator was used for the monochromatization of incident X-rays. The characteristics of the X-ray microprobe were experimentally examined. Though the beam size could be changed from 2 mu m to sub-mu m, the minimum beam size obtained was about 0.7 x 0.9 mu m(2) with a photon flux of 2 x 10(8) ph/s/300 mA for 9 keV X-rays by a multilayer monochromator. The capabilities of the X-ray microbeam system have been demonstrated for X-ray fluorescence trace element analysis. The sensitivity was three orders of magnitude higher compared to a similar type of X-ray microbeam system previously developed for X-rays from a bending magnet. An X-ray micro-diffraction experiment has also been performed for the characterization of local layer defects observed in surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals.