Hard X-ray Microscopy with sub 30 nm Spatial Resolution

Abstract

A transmission X‐ray microscope (TXM) has been installed at the BL01B beamline at National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center in Taiwan. This state‐of‐the‐art TXM operational in a range 8‐11 keV provides 2D images and 3D tomography with spatial resolution 60 nm, and with the Zernike‐phase contrast mode for imaging light materials such as biological specimens. A spatial resolution of the TXM better than 30 nm, apparently the best result in hard X‐ray microscopy, has been achieved by employing the third diffraction order of the objective zone plate. The TXM has been applied in diverse research fields, including analysis of failure mechanisms in microelectronic devices, tomographic structures of naturally grown photonic specimens, and the internal structure of fault zone gouges from an earthquake core. Here we discuss the scope and prospects of the project, and the progress of the TXM in NSRRC.