Damage threshold investigation using grazing incidence irradiation by hard X-ray free electron laser

X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) with intense and ultra-short pulse X-rays possibly induce damage to optical elements. We investigated the damage thresholds of optical materials by using focusing XFEL beams with sufficient power density for studying ablation phenomena. 1-mu m focusing beams with 10 keV photon energy were produced at the XFEL facility SACLA (SPring-8 Angstrom Compact free electron LAser). The focusing beams irradiated samples of rhodium-coated substrate, which is used in X-ray mirror optics, under grazing incident condition.