Although the performance of high-energy-resolution microcalorimeter spectrometers for x-ray microanalysis is encouraging, the future widespread acceptance of these spectrometers as valuable microanalysis instruments depends on improvements in both achievable count rate and geometrical x-ray collection efficiency. While the maximum output count rate of our microcalorimeter (∼160 s−1) is much less than that of conventional EDS detectors operating at their highest energy resolution (∼3000 s−1), we are confident that we can significantly improve the count rate without loss of energy resolution (∼10 eV FWHM over a broad energy range). Increasing the area (and thus solid angle) of the microcalorimeter is a more difficult problem, however, as the best microcalorimeter performance is achieved using small-area (typically 250 μm by 250 μm) absorbers with low heat capacity.

This problem can be solved by using an x-ray lens to increase the collection efficiency of the microcalorimeter spectrometer. A polycapillary optic consisting of tens of thousands of fused capillaries can collect x-rays from a point x-ray source over a large solid angle and focus the x-rays onto the small-area absorber of the microcalorimeter.