DEMONSTRATION OF X-RAY MICROSCOPY WITH AN X-RAY LASER OPERATING NEAR THE CARBON K EDGE

High-brightness and short-pulse-width (approximately 200 ps) x-ray lasers offer biologists the possibility of high-resolution three-dimensional imaging of specimens in an aqueous environment without the blurring effects associated with natural motions. As a first step toward developing the capabilities of this type of x-ray microscopy we have used a tantalum x-ray laser (lambda = 4.483 nm) together with an x-ray zone plate lens to image a test pattern. The observed image shows a detector-limited resolution of approximately 75 nm and paves the way to three-dimensional biological imaging with high spatial resolution (20-30 nm).