Dispersion and monochromatization of x-rays using a beryllium prism.

We demonstrate experimentally and numerically that an x-ray prism made of beryllium can be used to disperse and monochromatize x-rays. A polished beryllium cuboid was employed as refractive and dispersive optics. The results of a proof-of-principle experiment and methods of performance optimization are presented. The spatial separation of undulator harmonics and their subsequent selection using a slit are described. A numerical study, assuming realistic beam and beamline parameters, suggests that undulator harmonics can be spatially separated in the range from 3 keV to beyond 20 keV, while maintaining throughput above 50%. Refractive optics is particularly suitable for low-repetition-rate sources such as free-electron lasers and other LINAC-based short-pulse sources.