X-ray beam monitoring and wavelength calibration using four-beam diffraction.

Rigorous dynamical theory calculations show that four-beam diffraction (4BD) can be activated only by a unique photon energy and a unique incidence direction. Thus, 4BD may be used to precisely calibrate X-ray photon energies and beam positions. Based on the principles that the forbidden-reflection 4BD pattern, which is typically an X-shaped cross, can be generated by instant imaging using the divergent beam from a point source without rocking the crystal, a detailed real-time high-resolution beam (and source) position monitoring scheme is illustrated for monitoring two-dimensional beam positions and directions of modern synchrotron light sources, X-ray free-electron lasers and nano-focused X-ray sources.