Hard X-ray Microscopy with Elemental, Chemical, and Structural Contrast
C.G. Schroer a, P. Boye a, J.M. Feldkamp a, J. Patommel a, A. Schropp a, D. Samberg a, S. Stephan a, M. Burghammer b, S. Schöder b, C. Riekel b, B. Lengeler c, G. Falkenberg d, G. Wellenreuther d, M. Kuhlmann e, R. Frahm f, D. Lützenkirchen Hecht f and W.H. Schroeder g
a Institute of Structural Physics, Technische Universität Dresden, D-01062 Dresden, Germany
b ESRF, B.P. 220, F-38043 Grenoble, France
c II. Physikalisches Institut, RWTH Aachen University, D-52056 Aachen, Germany
d HASYLAB at DESY, Notkestr. 85, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany
e CELLS ALBA, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
f Institute of Materials Science and Department of Physics, Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Gauss Str. 20, D-42097 Wuppertal, Germany
g ICG-3, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich Germany
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We review hard X-ray microscopy techniques with a focus on scanning microscopy with synchrotron radiation. Its strength compared to other microscopies is the large penetration depth of hard x rays in matter that allows one to investigate the interior of an object without destructive sample preparation. In combination with tomography, local information from inside of a specimen can be obtained, even from inside special non-ambient sample environments. Different X-ray analytical techniques can be used to produce contrast, such as X-ray absorption, fluorescence, and diffraction, to yield chemical, elemental, and structural information about the sample, respectively. This makes X-ray microscopy attractive to many fields of science, ranging from physics and chemistry to materials, geo-, and environmental science, biomedicine, and nanotechnology. Our scanning microscope based on nanofocusing refractive X-ray lenses has a routine spatial resolution of about 100 nm and supports the contrast mechanisms mentioned above. In combination with coherent X-ray diffraction imaging, the spatial resolution can be improved to the 10 nm range. The current state-of-the-art of this technique is illustrated by several examples, and future prospects of the technique are given.
DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.117.357
PACS numbers: 68.37.Yz, 41.40.th