Use of extended and prepared reference objects in experimental Fourier transform X-ray holography

The use of one or more gold nanoballs as reference objects for Fourier Transform holography (FTH) is analysed using experimental soft X-ray diffraction from objects consisting of separated clusters of these balls. The holograms are deconvoluted against ball reference objects to invert to images, in combination with a Wiener filter to control noise. A resolution of ~30nm, smaller than one ball, is obtained even if a large cluster of balls is used as the reference, giving the best resolution yet obtained by X-ray FTH. Methods of dealing with missing data due to a beamstop are discussed. Practical prepared objects which satisfy the FTH condition are suggested, and methods of forming them described.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Applied Physics Letter

X-ray microscopy; an emerging technique for semiconductor microstructure characterization

The advent of third generation synchrotron radiation x-ray sources, such as the Advanced Light Source (ALS) at Berkeley have enabled the practical realization of a wide range of new techniques in which mature chemical or structural probes such as x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and x-ray diffraction are used in conjunction with microfocused x-ray beams. In this paper the characteristics of some of these new microscopes are described, particularly in reference to their applicability to the characterization of semiconductor microstructures

Compressive Phase Contrast Tomography

When x-rays penetrate soft matter, their phase changes more rapidly than their amplitude. In- terference effects visible with high brightness sources creates higher contrast, edge enhanced images. When the object is piecewise smooth (made of big blocks of a few components), such higher con- trast datasets have a sparse solution. We apply basis pursuit solvers to improve SNR, remove ring artifacts, reduce the number of views and radiation dose from phase contrast datasets collected at the Hard X-Ray Micro Tomography Beamline at the Advanced Light Source. We report a GPU code for the most computationally intensive task, the gridding and inverse gridding algorithm (non uniform sampled Fourier transform).Comment: 5 pages, "Image Reconstruction from Incomplete Data VI" conference 7800, SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications 1-5 August 2010 San Diego, CA United State

Design of an electron microscope phase plate using a focused continuous-wave laser

We propose a Zernike phase contrast electron microscope that uses an intense laser focus to convert a phase image into a visible image. We present the relativistic quantum theory of the phase shift caused by the laser-electron-interaction, study resonant cavities for enhancing the laser intensity, and discuss applications in biology, soft materials science, and atomic and molecular physics.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Coherent X-ray Diffractive Imaging; applications and limitations

The inversion of a diffraction pattern offers aberration-free diffraction-limited 3D images without the resolution and depth-of-field limitations of lens-based tomographic systems, the only limitation being radiation damage. We review our experimental results, discuss the fundamental limits of this technique and future plans.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure

Elliptically polarizing undulator beamline 4.0.1 for magnetic spectroscopy at the Advanced Light Source

A beamline for high resolution spectroscopy with elliptically polarized X-rays is described.The working energy range is large, from 20 eV to above 1800 eV. The resolving power is on the order of 10,000 at low energies (20-200 eV) and 6000 at high energies (200-1800 eV). This is achieved using a variable deviation angle plane grating monochromator. A single grating, with one line density and a varying groove depth, is used to cover the entire energy range. The beamline has been designed to operate with either one or two x-ray beams propagating simultaneously through the monochromator and to the experimental station. Switching between polarizations at rates of 0.1 Hz and slower is accomplished in the single beam mode by alternating the output of the elliptically polarized undulator source between left and right polarization. Fast polarization switching, at rates of 100-1000 Hz, is provided in the two beam mode by mechanical chopping between two photon beams, one of which is right circularly polarized, and the other left circularly polarized

XPS and UHV AFM Analysis of the K2CsSb Photocathodes Growth

Next generation light sources, based on Energy Recovery Linac and Free Electron Laser technology will rely on photoinjector based electron sources. Successful operation of such sources requires reliable photocathodes with long operational life, uniform and high quantum efficiency, low thermal emittance and low dark current. The goal of this project is to construct a cathode which meets these requirements. Advances in photocathode research must take a combined effort. The materials have to be analyzed by means of chemical composition, surface structure and these findings have to be correlated to the quantum efficiency and performance in the injector. The presented work focuses on the chemical composition and surface structure of K2CsSb photocathodes. The XPS and AFM measurements were performed at the Center of Functional Nanomaterials at BNL. K2CsSb photocathodes were grown under UHV conditions. The components were adsorbed one at a time and after each growth step the corresponding XPS spectra was taken. During growth the quantum efficiency was recorded. As last step the sample was moved into the AFM without exposure to air to determine the surface roughnes

Preliminary optical design of a varied line-space spectrograph for the multi-channel detection of near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra in the 280-550 eV energy range

The optical design of a varied line-space spectrograph for the multi-channel recording of NEXAFS spectra in a single {open_quotes}snapshot{close_quotes} is proposed. The spectrograph is to be used with a bending magnet source on beamline 7.3.2 at the Advanced Light Source (ALS). Approximately 20 volts of spectra are simultaneously imaged across a small square of material sample at each respective K absorption edge of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Photoelectrons emitted from the material sample will be collected by an electron imaging microscope, the view field of which determines the sampling size. The sample also forms the exit slit of the optical system. This dispersive method of NEXAFS data acquisition is three to four orders of magnitude faster than the conventional method of taking data point-to-point using scanning of the grating. The proposed design is presented along with the design method and supporting SHADOW raytrace analysis