# Shaping Coherent X-rays with Binary Optics

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel binary zone plate design strategy that enables arbitrary wavefront shaping and structured illumination in x-ray optics, enhancing capabilities for various imaging and holography applications.

## Contribution

The authors develop a new design method for binary diffractive lenses that can produce customizable amplitude and phase profiles for advanced x-ray imaging techniques.

## Key findings

- Enables arbitrary structured illumination in x-ray imaging.
- Optimizes wavefront shaping for applications like holography and interferometry.
- Demonstrates versatility of binary zone plates in various experiments.

## Abstract

Diffractive lenses fabricated by lithographic methods are one of the most popular image forming optics in the x-ray regime. Most commonly, binary diffractive optics, such as Fresnel zone plates are used due to their ability to focus at high resolution and to manipulate the x-ray wavefront. We report here a binary zone plate design strategy to form arbitrary illuminations for coherent multiplexing, structured illumination, and wavefront shaping experiments. Given a desired illumination, we adjust the duty cycle, harmonic order, and zone placement to vary both the amplitude and phase of the wavefront at the lens. This enables the binary lithographic pattern to generate arbitrary structured illumination optimized for a variety of applications such as holography, interferometry, ptychography, imaging, and others.