X-ray nanotomography using near-field ptychography.

Marco Stockmar,Peter Cloetens,Andreas Fehringer,Jérôme Laurencin,Richard Clare,Franz Pfeiffer,Pierre Thibault,Irene Zanette,Bjoern Enders,Julie Villanova,Maxime Hubert,Martin Dierolf,Sebastian Allner

doi:10.1364/oe.23.012720

Abstract

Propagation-based imaging or inline holography in combination with computed tomography (holotomography) is a versatile tool to access a sample's three-dimensional (3D) micro or nano structure. However, the phase retrieval step needed prior to tomographic reconstruction can be challenging especially for strongly absorbing and refracting samples. Near-field ptychography is a recently developed phase imaging method that has been proven to overcome this hurdle in projection data. In this work we extend near-field ptychography to three dimensions and we show that, in combination with tomography, it can access the nano structure of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The quality of the resulting tomographic data and the structural properties of the anode extracted from this volume were compared to previous results obtained with holotomography. This work highlights the potential of 3D near-field ptychography for reliable and detailed investigations of samples at the nanometer scale, with important applications in materials and life sciences among others.

Highlights

X-ray micro- or nano-computed tomography provides high-resolution access to a sample’s internal structure in a non-destructive way [1, 2]
In this work we extend near-field ptychography to three dimensions and we show that, in combination with tomography, it can access the nano structure of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)
The additional modes account for those inconsistencies, as they do with far-field ptychography [38]

Summary

Introduction

X-ray micro- or nano-computed tomography provides high-resolution access to a sample’s internal structure in a non-destructive way [1, 2]. When implemented in a cone beam magnification [8], propagation based imaging can be performed on a variety of different length scales and bridges the gap to coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) methods [9, 10, 11, 12, 13]. Unlike the latter, propagation-based imaging is based on near-field diffraction i.e. short propagation distances rather than far-field diffraction and benefits from lower requirements to the beam’s coherence and the detector’s dynamic range

Methods

Results

Conclusion