Full-field hard x-ray microscopy below 30 nm: a challenging nanofabrication achievement

Abstract

The fabrication of devices to focus hard x-rays is one of the most difficult—andimportant—challenges in nanotechnology. Here we show that Fresnel zone plates combining30 nm external zones and a high aspect ratio finally bring hard x-ray microscopy beyond the30 nm Rayleigh spatial resolution level and measurable spatial frequencies down to20–23 nm feature size. After presenting the overall nanofabrication process and thecharacterization test results, we discuss the potential research impact of these resolutionlevels.