Letter abstract
Nature Physics 4, 394 - 398 (2008)
Published online: 9 March 2008 | doi:10.1038/nphys896
Subject Categories: Optical physics | Techniques and instrumentation
Keyhole coherent diffractive imaging
Brian Abbey1, Keith A. Nugent1, Garth J. Williams1, Jesse N. Clark2, Andrew G. Peele2, Mark A. Pfeifer2, Martin de Jonge3 & Ian McNulty3
The availability of third-generation synchrotrons and ultimately X-ray free-electron lasers1 is driving the development of many new methods of microscopy. Among these techniques, coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) is one of the most promising, offering nanometre-scale imaging of non-crystallographic samples. Image reconstruction from a single diffraction pattern has hitherto been possible only for small, isolated samples, presenting a fundamental limitation on the CDI method. Here we report on a form of imaging we term 'keyhole' CDI, which can reconstruct objects of arbitrary size. We demonstrate the technique using visible light and X-rays, with the latter producing images of part of an extended object with a detector-limited resolution of better than 20 nm. Combining the improved resolution of modern X-ray optics with the wavelength-limited resolution of CDI, the method paves the way for detailed imaging of a single quantum dot or of a small virus within a complex host environment.
- School of Physics, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
- Department of Physics, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3086, Australia
- Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA
Correspondence to: Garth J. Williams1 e-mail: garthw@unimelb.edu.au