Schematic diagram of the principle of X-ray coherent diffraction imaging.
X-ray is used in a wide range of applications, including X-ray coherent diffraction imaging, X-ray plasma diagnostics, EUV lithography, soft X-ray microscopy, X-ray spectroscopy, fringe cameras, and micro-CT detection.
Coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) is one of the important applications of free electron lasers in recent years. Using ultraviolet or X-ray rays generated by free electron lasers, CDI technology can achieve a spatial resolution of 10nm or even better, breaking through the limitations of traditional optical imaging.
Taken by Henry NChapman was published in Nature Physics **doi:101038 nphys461) as an example, the authors used the free electron laser of the German DSY light source to achieve single-pulse CDI imaging for the first time: an ultrashort pulse with a wavelength of 32 nm, 25 fs, and a single pulse of photons up to 10 12 photons. As shown in the figure, the CDI imaging resolution is up to 62nm, which is the sampling limit of 32nm wavelength.
Schematic diagram of the experimental setup.
The reconstructed X-ray images are undestroyed and have a resolution of up to 62 nm
In addition to the need for high-quality light sources, research-grade detectors are also critical in cutting-edge CDI experiments. In coherent diffraction imaging technology, the two most important requirements for detectors are:1.The full well capacity is large2.The chip area is large
In a diffraction image, the brightness of the central transmitted spot is usually more than 10,000 times that of the diffractive spot, and the direct transmitted signal needs to be blocked with a light shield to avoid damaging the detector. In addition, the low-order diffraction spot near the center is much stronger than the higher-order diffraction away from the center. This requires us to detect a strong enough high-order weak signal while ensuring that the low-order strong signal is not saturated. In this way, the larger the full well capacity, the more beneficial it is for the analysis of experimental data.
A new product for X-ray research – the Sophia-XO camera.
Princeton Instruments' latest Sophia-XO camera features the latest 230ccd sensor with a single pixel size of 15x15 m and a light-sensitive area of 13A 23% increase in 5 m pixels and, more importantly, a 50% increase in full well capacity to up to 150 ke-pixels, guaranteeing high-quality CDI data.
Larger pixel size – 15 m
In addition, the new generation of SOPHIA-XO large area scan cameras is also available in a 4096x4096 sensor format with an overall sensor size of up to 619x61.9mm。The larger imaging market can effectively improve the flexibility and data acquisition capabilities of experiments. In CDI experiments, the detector can be placed farther away from the sample to obtain higher spatial sampling resolution.
Larger chip area – 4K 4K format.
Although the large area array CCD can bring a lot of convenience to the experiment, its long readout time has become the biggest bottleneck to improve the experimental efficiency.
Princeton Instruments' next-generation SOPHIA-XO camera features the latest 4-read-out parallel design, with the fastest ADC efficiency of up to 16MHz and a readout of all 16 million pixels in just 12 seconds, which is 5 times the speed of the traditional large area array CCD.
Faster readout.
Princeton Instruments' thermoelectrically cooled, high-sensitivity, high-speed imaging SOPHIA-XO cameras use back-illuminated CCD sensors to directly detect VUV and X-ray (5 EV to 30 KeV) photons with a wide range of energies.
The Sophia-XO cameras are specifically designed for scientific applications in the fields of VUV EUV XUV imaging, X-ray diffraction, X-ray microscopy, X-ray holography, X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray plasma.