Abstract
We present a design of a compact transmission water-window microscope based on the Z-pinching capillary discharge nitrogen plasma source. The microscope operates at wavelength of 2.88 nm (430 eV), and with its table-top dimensions provides an alternative to large-scale soft X-ray (SXR) microscope systems based on synchrotrons and free-electron lasers. The emitted soft X-ray radiation is filtered by a titanium foil and focused by an ellipsoidal condenser mirror into the sample plane. A Fresnel zone plate was used to create a transmission image of the sample onto a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. To assess the resolution of the microscope, we imaged a standard sample-copper mesh. The spatial resolution of the microscope is 75 nm at half-pitch, calculated via a 10–90% intensity knife-edge test. The applicability of the microscope is demonstrated by the imaging of green algae-Desmodesmus communis. This paper describes the principle of capillary discharge source, design of the microscope, and experimental imaging results of Cu mesh and biological sample.
Highlights
Imaging is a crucial factor in a fundamental understanding of the environment surrounding us as well as the insight of ourselves
One of the emerging imaging methods for cell biology is soft X-ray microcopy with its spatial resolution in the order of tens nm covering the gap between transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and visible light microscopy
The soft X-ray microscopic images captured by employing the Fresnel zone plate as the objective optics with 10 nm spatial resolution have been presented [1], and the soft X-ray ptychographic microscope demonstrated spatial resolution below 5 nm [2] as ptychography removed the resolution limit imposed by the characteristics of the
Summary
Imaging is a crucial factor in a fundamental understanding of the environment surrounding us as well as the insight of ourselves. New imaging methods have been explored during the last couple of decades to continue research in cell biology. One of the emerging imaging methods for cell biology is soft X-ray microcopy with its spatial resolution in the order of tens nm covering the gap between transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and visible light microscopy. The soft X-ray microscopic images captured by employing the Fresnel zone plate as the objective optics with 10 nm spatial resolution have been presented [1], and the soft X-ray ptychographic microscope demonstrated spatial resolution below 5 nm [2] as ptychography removed the resolution limit imposed by the characteristics of the. Soft X-ray microscopes typically operate within the “water-window” spectral region, between the K-absorption edges of oxygen (2.34 nm; 530 eV) and carbon (4.4 nm; 280 eV) [3,4] and have three advantages over light and electron microscopes. SXR radiation penetrates biological materials much more than electrons, which allows specimens up to 10 μm thick to be imaged
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