“…This is particularly important for, for example, high-pressure studies in a diamond-anvil cell in which the X-rays must pass through an aperture only a few hundred ~m in diameter and for studies of photoexcited states where high excitation power density is necessary. The most commonly employed technique for achieving a desired bend on a crystal has been to apply a force to the apex of a triangular crystal which is held fixed at its base (Phizackerley, Rek, Stephenson, Conradson, Hodgson, Matsushita & Oyanagi, 1983;Dartyge, Depautex, Dubuisson, Fontaine, Jucha, Leboucher & Tourillon, 1986;Allinson, Baker, Greaves & Nicoll, 1988;Hagelstein, Cunis, Frahm, Niemann & Rabe, 1989;Batterman & Berman, 1983). The resulting cylindrical bend, however, produces a broadening of the polychromatic focus spot, which is proportional to the square of the illuminated length of the crystal (Ice & Sparks, 1984).…”