| i Coherent x-rays generated from recent advanced x-ray sources such as next generation synchrotrons and x-ray lasers provide new opportunities to apply x-rays in a similar manner as visible laser beam. One of the most important applications of coherent x-rays is the new microscopy technique based on static coherent diffraction measurements. The ultimate resolution of this diffraction microscopy can be in sub-nanometer scale. In this presentation, we introduce the image reconstruction technique together with our recent results on coherent x-ray diffraction imaging using hard x-rays at a wavelength of 0.17 nm. We also demonstrate coherent soft x-ray diffraction imaging with a single x-ray laser pulse at a wavelength of 13.9 nm. The duration of a pulse was about 8 picoseconds. Using a single soft x-ray laser pulse with a flux as high as 1011 photons/pulse, we measured the diffraction pattern of a micrometer-sized object, and then successfully reconstructed its image using a phase retrieval oversampling algorithm. The image resolution was approximately 180 nm. The impact of the single pulse x-ray microscopy would be great in molecular biology and nanoscience since the structural evolution of a specific molecule or a particle can be followed in ultra fast time scale. |
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