Single-Shot Diffractive Imaging with a Table-Top Femtosecond Soft X-Ray Laser-Harmonics Source

Abstract

Coherent x-ray diffractive imaging is a powerful method for studies on nonperiodic structures on thenanoscale. Access to femtosecond dynamics in major physical, chemical, and biological processesrequires single-shot diffraction data. Up to now, this has been limited to intense coherent pulses from afree electron laser. Here we show that laser-driven ultrashort x-ray sources offer a comparativelyinexpensive alternative. We present measurements of single-shot diffraction patterns from isolatednano-objects with a single 20 fs pulse from a table-top high-harmonic x-ray laser. Images werereconstructed with a resolution of 119 nm from the single shot and 62 nm from multiple shots