 David Attwood (physicist)

David Attwood studies the use of diffraction for X-ray microscopy. With Janos Kirz, he authored the X-Ray Data Booklet's account of zone plates: concentric rings select contributions that interfere at a focus. Their treatment connects outer-zone width to spatial resolution and explains why an ideal opaque/transparent zone plate sends only $1/{\pi }^2$ of incident power into its first diffraction order. Resolving a small structure and collecting a useful fraction of the incident X-rays are therefore separate design constraints.^[ref]

David Attwood is a physicist known for his work in experimental condensed matter physics and related fields. He has made significant contributions to the understanding of various physical phenomena using advanced techniques such as X-ray and electron spectroscopy. Attwood is also recognized for his involvement in the development and application of synchrotron radiation and other high-energy techniques for investigating materials at the atomic and molecular levels.