Advances in microscopic imaging at the nanoscale using soft X-rays and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) from a compact laser plasma source

In the paper recently developed microscopes operating in the soft X-rays and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectral regions are presented. Soft X-rays and EUV were generated using laser plasma light sources with a double-stream gas puff target. Compact Nd:YAG lasers, generating 4 ns pulses with energy up to 0.8 J at 10 Hz repetition rate, were used to irradiate the targets. Two full-field microscopes based on Fresnel optics have been developed with the use of these sources. The EUV microscope was operating at the wavelength of 13.8 nm and used for imaging of nanostructures with sub-100 nm spatial resolution. The soft X-ray microscope was operating at the wavelength of 2.8 nm and was used for imaging of dry and hydrated biological samples with spatial resolution below 100 nm. The third microscope is based on soft X-ray contact microscopy (SXCM) approach. The new microscopes and their application for imaging at the nanoscale are presented and discussed.