Water window imaging x ray microscope
Abstract
A high resolution x ray microscope for imaging microscopic structures within biological specimens has an optical system including a highly polished primary and secondary mirror coated with identical multilayer coatings, the mirrors acting at normal incidence. The coatings have a high reflectivity in the narrow wave bandpass between 23.3 and 43.7 angstroms and have low reflectivity outside of this range. The primary mirror has a spherical concave surface and the secondary mirror has a spherical convex surface. The radii of the mirrors are concentric about a common center of curvature on the optical axis of the microscope extending from the object focal plane to the image focal plane. The primary mirror has an annular configuration with a central aperture and the secondary mirror is positioned between the primary mirror and the center of curvature for reflecting radiation through the aperture to a detector. An x ray filter is mounted at the stage end of the microscope, and film sensitive to x rays in the desired band width is mounted in a camera at the image plane of the optical system. The microscope is mounted within a vacuum chamber for minimizing the absorption of x rays in air from a source through the microscope.
- Publication:
-
NASA Patent Application
- Pub Date:
- October 1990
- Bibcode:
- 1990pata.reptT....H
- Keywords:
-
- High Resolution;
- Imaging Techniques;
- Microscopes;
- Mirrors;
- Reflectance;
- Vacuum Chambers;
- Water;
- X Ray Analysis;
- X Rays;
- Apertures;
- Cameras;
- Coatings;
- Convexity;
- Curvature;
- Microscopy;
- Patent Applications;
- Radii;
- Reflection;
- Sensitivity;
- Instrumentation and Photography