Thermal bump removal of a crystal monochromator by designing an optimal shape

Thermal bump arising at illuminated area of a water cooled monochromator crystal can be considerably reduced by designing an appropriate shape. Temperature and deformation have been simulated by finite element analysis (FEA) computations as a function of few geometrical parameters describing the shape of the crystal. As a result, a new crystal shape has been found which optimizes the throughput of a double crystals monochromator (DCM). Performances of the initial rectangular crystal and the new designed crystal predicted by FEA-based calculations and measured during experimental tests on a synchrotron beamline are reported. General design principles to overcome heat load issues and the objective function using the slope errors derived from FEA results are detailed. Current and foreseen performances at higher load are presented. Finally, advantages and limits of this simple-to-design and cheap solution are discussed.