Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A method of making a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) zone plate for focusing hard x-rays comprising the steps of:providing a substrate; said substrate being a flat polished substrate;sequentially depositing on said substrate a plurality of alternating layers respectively formed of tungsten silicide (WSi2) and silicon (Si) and precisely controlling a thickness of each layer from a minimum thickness of a first deposited layer adjacent the substrate to a maximum thickness of a last deposited layer to form a zone plate multilayer structure;said first minimum thickness layer having a selected thickness of less than or equal to 5 nm with monotonically increasing thickness of said alternating layers to provide said multilayer structure having a thickness of greater than 12 μm (microns); and x-rays passing through said silicon layers and being diffracted by said tungsten silicide layers; andbonding together a pair of said zone plate multilayer structures using a gold-tin mixture as a bonding agent with said maximum thickness layer near the bond layer to produce a bonded multilayer. 2. A method of making a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) zone plate as recited in claim 1 further includes slicing said zone plate multilayer structure to form a plurality of multilayer sections; and polishing said multilayer sections to a selected depth to produce multiple partial zone plates. 3. A method of making a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) zone plate as recited in claim 2 includes using two of said multiple partial zone plates tilted at a predefined angle for high diffraction efficiency and crossed perpendicularly to produce a partial Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) to focus x-rays to a point. 4. A method of making a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) zone plate as recited in claim 3 wherein said multiple partial zone plates are tilted toward a Bragg angle of diffraction to achieve highest efficiency. 5. A method of making a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) zone plate as recited in claim 2 includes using four of said multiple partial zone plates being mechanically held and aligned for providing a full Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL), wherein two pairs of said four multiple partial zone plates focuses x-rays to a line and said two pairs are crossed to focus the x-rays to a point. 6. A method of making a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) zone plate as recited in claim 1 includes slicing said bonded multilayer to form a plurality of sections; and polishing said sections to a selected depth to produce multiple full linear zone plates. 7. A method of making a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) zone plate as recited in claim 6 wherein slicing said sections includes providing a selected length-to-width ratio to modify the natural bending of each said polished full linear zone plate to enhance diffraction efficiency. 8. A method of making a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) zone plate as recited in claim 1 wherein bonding together said pair of said zone plate multilayer structures includes heating in a vacuum oven at a selected temperature for a set time period. 9. A method of making a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) zone plate as recited in claim 8 wherein said selected temperature is provided in a range between 280 and 300 degrees C. 10. A method of making a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) zone plate as recited in claim 1 wherein sequentially depositing on said substrate said plurality of alternating layers includes using direct current (DC) magnetron sputter deposition to form the plurality of alternating layers. 11. A zone plate multilayer structure for a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) for focusing hard x-rays comprising:a flat polished substrate carrying a plurality of deposited alternating layers respectively formed of tungsten silicide (WSi2) and silicon (Si);each of said deposited alternating layers having a precisely controlled thickness from a minimum thickness of a first deposited layer adjacent the substrate to a maximum thickness of a last deposited layer to form the zone plate multilayer structure;said first minimum thickness layer having a selected thickness of less than or equal to 5 nm with monotonically increasing thickness of said alternating layers to provide said multilayer structure having a thickness of greater than 12 μm (microns); and x-rays passing through said silicon layers and being diffracted by said tungsten silicide layers; anda pair of said zone plate multilayer structures being bonded together using a gold-tin mixture as a bonding agent with said maximum thickness layer near the bond layer to produce a bonded multilayer. 12. A zone plate multilayer structure for a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) for focusing hard x-rays as recited in claim 11 wherein said zone plate multilayer structure is sliced and polished to form multiple partial zone plates. 13. A zone plate multilayer structure for a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) for focusing hard x-rays as recited in claim 12 wherein two of said multiple partial zone plates are tilted at a predefined angle for high diffraction efficiency and crossed perpendicularly to produce a partial Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) to focus x-rays to a point. 14. A zone plate multilayer structure for a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) for focusing hard x-rays as recited in claim 12 wherein four of said multiple partial zone plates are mechanically held and aligned for providing a full Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL), wherein two pairs of said four multiple partial zone plates focuses x-rays to a line and said two pairs are crossed to focus the x-rays to a point. 15. A zone plate multilayer structure for a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) for focusing hard x-rays as recited in claim 11 wherein said bonded multilayer is sliced to form a plurality of sections; and said sections are polished to a selected depth to produce multiple full linear zone plates. 16. A zone plate multilayer structure for a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) for focusing hard x-rays as recited in claim 15 wherein slicing said sections includes providing a selected length-to-width ratio to modify the natural bending of each said polished full linear zone plate to enhance diffraction efficiency. 17. A zone plate multilayer structure for a Multilayer Laue Lens (MLL) for focusing hard x-rays as recited in claim 11 wherein said maximum thickness of said plurality of alternating layers is selected in a range of approximately 25 nm to 58 nm.