X-ray holographic microscopy by means of photoresist recording and atomic-force microscope readout

We have reconstructed in-line (or Gabor) x-ray holograms at 40-50-nm resolution from a complex biological specimen. The holograms were recorded as a relief pattern on photoresist with use of 1.89-nm, soft, x rays from the X1A undulator beam line at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory. We have improved the resolution and the fidelity and simplified the experiment compared with earlier work by employing a special atomic-force microscope to examine and digitize the holograms. Following digitization the holograms were reconstructed numerically, allowing both the absorptive and phase-shifting properties of the reconstructed objected to be mapped. A comparison of the reconstructed images with images obtained from holographic technique. The method offers promise as a technique for soft-x-ray microscopy and diffraction tomography of dry and frozen hydrated specimens and for microscopy with pulsed x-ray sources. (C) 1996 Optical Society of America.