Single-shot structural analysis by high-energy X-ray diffraction using an ultrashort all-optical source

High-energy X-rays (HEX-rays) with photon energies on order of 100 keV have attractive characteristics, such as comparably low absorption, high spatial resolution and the ability to access inner-shell states of heavy atoms. These properties are advantageous for many applications ranging from studies of bulk materials to the investigation of materials in extreme conditions. Ultrafast X-ray diffraction allows the direct imaging of atomic dynamics simultaneously on its natural time and length scale. However, using HEX-rays for ultrafast studies has been limited due to the lack of sources that can generate pulses of sufficiently short (femtosecond) duration in this wavelength range. Here we show single-crystal diffraction using ultrashort ~90 keV HEX-ray pulses generated by an all-optical source based on inverse Compton scattering. We also demonstrate a method for measuring the crystal lattice spacing in a single shot that contains only ~10⁵ photons in a spectral bandwidth of ~50% full width at half maximum (FWHM). Our approach allows us to obtain structural information from the full X-ray spectrum. As target we use a cylindrically bent Ge crystal in Laue transmission geometry. This experiment constitutes a first step towards measurements of ultrafast atomic dynamics using femtosecond HEX-ray pulses.