230 nm Resolution 10 keV X-Ray Imaging Transmission Microscope with Parallel Beam Illumination

The spatial resolution of an imaging transmission hard X-ray microscope has been greatly enhanced by the use of an X-ray phase zone plate with a numerical aperture five times larger than the previous one [Y. Kagoshima, T. Ibuki, K. Takai, Y. Yokoyama, N. Miyamoto, Y. Tsusaka and J. Matsui: Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 39 (2000) L433]. An experiment was carried out at the photon energy of 10 keV to evaluate the performance of the microscope. It was confirmed that the spatial resolution was 230 nm and that a line-and-space pattern as fine as 100 nm could be imaged.