Bent crystals by surface grooving method for high-efficiency concentration of hard x-ray photons by a Laue lens

We present an experimental study on the method of surface grooving for bending crystals for the realization of a hard x-ray Laue lens. Bent Si and Ge crystalline plates were analyzed by x-ray diffraction of their (111) planes at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Crystals diffracted photons from 150 to 700 keV with efficiency peaking 95% at 150 keV for Si. Measured rocking curves of the samples showed flat-topped profiles with their FWHM equal to the crystal bending, i.e., the method of surface grooving proved to evenly bend the crystals, their energy passband being very well controlled. Surface grooving technique has been found to offer both high reproducibility and easy control of diffraction properties of the crystals. Besides, this method is cheap, simple and compatible with mass production, making it a reliable technique for fabrication of a Laue lens, where serial production of crystals should be envisaged. A Laue lens made of crystals bent by surface grooves can lead to significant detection improvement in astrophysical applications.