  A crystalline undulator (CU) with periodically deformed crystallographic
planes is capable of deflecting charged particles with the same strength as an
equivalent magnetic field of 1000 T and could provide quite a short period L in
the sub-millimeter range. We present an idea for creation of a CU and report
its first realization. One face of a silicon crystal was given periodic
micro-scratches (grooves), with a period of 1 mm, by means of a diamond blade.
The X-ray tests of the crystal deformation have shown that a sinusoidal-like
shape of crystalline planes goes through the bulk of the crystal. This opens up
the possibility for experiments with high-energy particles channeled in CU, a
novel compact source of radiation. The first experiment on photon emission in
CU has been started at LNF with 800 MeV positrons aiming to produce 50 keV
undulator photons.
