Much effort has beenexerted both in the development of modern dedicated synchrotrons and free electron laserswith unique properties.Femtosecond laser plasma sources provide ultra-short X-ray pulsesof high peak brilliance and can thus be complementary X-ray sources to the undulator basedsources.All these modern X-ray sources need dedicated X-ray optics for diagnostics andapplications,respectively.X-ray spectroscopy is one of the most important diagnostics ofplasmas in the context of laser fusion.Depending on the aims of theseexperiments,monochromatic X-ray images or high resolution spectra combined with eitherspatial or time resolution can be obtained.Sophisticated monochromatic imagers with up to10 toroidally bent crystals have been developed to study the implosion processes in laserfusion experiments;time-resolved maps of plasma parameters are evaluated from thedata.High-power femtosecond lasers provide a practical,relatively inexpensive,powerfulX-ray pulse source.Information on production efficiency,the energy distribution andtransport of hot electrons is needed to maximize X-ray output in desired K-shell emissionlines or continuum ranges so that peak brilliances comparable to those of synchrotrons maybe feasible.Combining these new sources with bent crystal optics enables diffractionexperiments on sub-picosecond time scales.Laser-pump X-rayprobe experiments have shownevidence of structure changes in several crystals within 250 fs.These X-ray optics havebeen designed in our institute using ray tracing and Bragg reflection codes for the 1D or2D bent crystals or combinations thereof.In the preparation process,extreme care has beentaken over crystal perfection,selection of optimum reflections,precisionbending,measurement of imaging and reflection properties.X-ray topographic cameras anddiffractometers are used to check the relevant properties of the analyzer crystals.