X-ray microscope

Claim 1

AN OPTICAL SYSTEM CAPABLE OF FOCUSING RADIATION HAVING WAVE LENGTHS IN THE RANGE SHORTER THAN 1,000 ANGSTROM UNITS, INCLUDING A SERIES OF AT LEAST TWO CONCAVE REFLECTORS SPACED ALONG AN OPTICAL SYSTEM AXIS AND HAVING THEIR CENTERS SUBSTANTIALLY ALIGNED WITH SAID AXIS, MEANS SUPPORTING EACH SAID REFLECTOR FOR ANGULAR MOVEMENT ABOUT AN AXIS OF ROTATION PERPENDICULAR TO SAID OPTICAL SYSTEM AXIS, THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF EACH SUCCESSIVE REFLECTOR BEING ANGULARLY DISPLACED SUBSTANTAILLY 90* ABOUT SAID OPTICAL SYSTEM AXIS FROM THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF THE REFLECTOR PRECEDING IT IN SAID SERIES, EACH SAID REFLECTOR HAVING A NORMAL RANGE OF ANGULAR POSITION ABOUT ITS AXIS OF ROTATION IN WHICH THE ANGLE BETWEEN SAID OPTICAL SYSTEM AXIS AND THE REFLECTING SURFACE IS LESS THAN 1*; EACH SAID REFLECTOR COMPRISING A CLOSED CYLINDRICAL CASING HAVING A RESILIENT END WALL WITH AN OUTER SURFACE WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY PLANE WHEN SAID WALL IS UNSTRESSED, AND MEANS TO MAINTAIN THE PRESSURE WITHIN SAID CASING AT A VALUE DIFFERENT FROM THE EXTERNAL PRESSURE SO THAT SAID WALL IS DEFLECTED BY THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL PRESSURES ACTING THEREON, AND SAID EXTERNAL SURFACE BECOMES CURVED; AND AN IMAGE SENSING DEVICE ALIGNED WITH SAID OPTICAL SYSTEM TO RECEIVE AN IMAGE REFLECTED FROM SAID REFLECTORS.