We investigated the diffractive focusing properties of (111) GaAs linear Bragg–Fresnel lenses (BFLs) developed for hard x-ray microscopy and microdiffraction of complex materials in confined geometries. We demonstrated that the use of GaAs yields significant processing advantages due to the reduced zone depth. Focal plane diffraction patterns of linear BFLs measured at the advanced photon source using 8–40 keV x rays were compared to a simple model based on Kirchhoff–Fresnel diffraction theory. Good agreement was obtained between experimental data and model calculations using only zones within an effective aperture defined by the transverse coherence of the source.