Saturated X-ray absorption produces transparant aluminium

29 July 2009
On the Nature-website, physicist Bob Nagler (Oxford University) and his international colleagues present a breakthrough in the field of non-linear optics.

They used the intense X-ray source FLASH at the DESY-Institute in Hamburg to saturate the X-ray absorption of aluminium. Once saturated, the material can no longer absorb X-rays and becomes transparent to them. Rijnhuizens Ryszard Sobierajski and Sam Khorsand helped to focus FLASH to a level where enough energy was concentrated to saturate the X-ray absorption. The phenomenon has, up until now, only been produced with visible and infrared light, which is far less rich in energy than X-rays.

High resolution electron microscope image of a Molybdenum / Silicium multilayer (credit: nSI / FOM-Rijnhuizen)

Lees meer
www.fom.nl/live/nieuws/artikel.pag?objectnumber=99453 (Dutch)