Abstract
High resolution X-ray nano-tomography experiments are often limited to a few tens of micrometer size volumes due to detector size. It is possible, through the use of multiple overlapping tomography scans, to produce a large area scan which can encompass a sample in its entirety. Mounting and positioning regions to be scanned is highly challenging and normally requires focused ion beam approaches. In this work we have imaged intact beetle scale cells mounted on the tip of a needle using a micromanipulator stage. Here we show X-ray holotomography data for single ultra-white scales from the beetles Lepidiota stigma (L. stigma) and Cyphochilus which exhibit the most effective scattering of white light in the literature. The final thresholded matrices represent a scan area of 25 × 70 × 362.5 µm and 25 × 67.5 × 235µm while maintaining a pixel resolution of 25 nm. This tomographic approach allowed the internal structure of the scales to be captured completely intact and undistorted by the sectioning required for traditional microscopy techniques.
Highlights
Background & SummaryX-ray tomography is an experimental technique that generates a 3-D reconstruction of the sample from 2D X-ray projection images taken at a multitude of angles ranging from complete rotations to a limited tilt series depending on the beam setup and the sample environment
Www.nature.com/scientificdata full intact single scales from the beetles Lepidiota stigma (L. sitgma) and Cyphochilus. These samples were chosen for their unique optical properties, in that they are highly reflective whilst ultra-thin as the result of a porous network within the scales composed of chitin and air. These scales have been widely studied via a variety of techniques in the literature[1,2,3,4,5], including a 2017 study by Wilts et al.[6] in which cryo X-ray nano-tomography which was used to generate a single 343 μm[3] cube from a column which had been milled from a Cyphochilus scale using a focussed ion beam (FIB)
The results presented in this article are the first one reporting entire and intact scales without external intervention on the internal structure due to sample preparation or degradation during measurements
Summary
X-ray tomography is an experimental technique that generates a 3-D reconstruction of the sample from 2D X-ray projection images taken at a multitude of angles ranging from complete rotations to a limited tilt series depending on the beam setup and the sample environment. Full intact single scales from the beetles Lepidiota stigma (L. sitgma) and Cyphochilus These samples were chosen for their unique optical properties, in that they are highly reflective whilst ultra-thin as the result of a porous network within the scales composed of chitin and air. These scales have been widely studied via a variety of techniques in the literature[1,2,3,4,5], including a 2017 study by Wilts et al.[6] in which cryo X-ray nano-tomography which was used to generate a single 343 μm[3] cube from a column which had been milled from a Cyphochilus scale using a focussed ion beam (FIB). As the intra-scale structure captured by these extensive whole scale data sets exhibit unique optical properties, they will be of interest to those working on the simulation and design of advanced photonic materials
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