Abstract

Bright, partially coherent sources in the 20-200 Å wavelength region, combined with new developments in lenses and mirrors, have opened new opportunities for microscopy in the life and physical sciences. We describe the development of diffractive lenses that discern 300 Å features at wavelengths from 24 to 45 Å, interference coatings that achieve 60% normal incidence reflectivity at 130 Å wavelength, undulator radiation that provides broadly tunable partially coherent radiation, and soft x-ray lasing that has been used for high resolution subnanosecond imaging. Applications include biological microscopy of structures at the border between the largest macromolecules and the smallest organelles, element-specific and chemically sensitive studies of surfaces and thin films on spatial scales of less than 1,000 Å, and x-ray optical pattern transfer techniques relevant to the manufacture of future nanoelectronic devices. Further opportunities based on soft x-ray coherent optical techniques, two-photon pump-probe techniques, and combination techniques that might permit element-specific atomic resolution scanning tunneling will be discussed.

© 1992 Optical Society of America