Ultrafast, ultrabright, X-ray holography using a uniformly-redundant array

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a highly efficient X-ray holography technique using a uniformly redundant array, enabling high-resolution, phase-contrast imaging of nanoscale objects with ultrafast pulses at free-electron lasers.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method employing a uniformly redundant array to significantly enhance X-ray Fourier Transform holography efficiency and image quality.

Findings

Achieved over 1000-fold increase in holography efficiency.

Successfully imaged nanofabricated objects and bacterial cells with femtosecond pulses.

Demonstrated potential for ultrafast, high-resolution imaging with upcoming X-ray laser technology.

Abstract

Advances in the development of free-electron lasers offer the realistic prospect of high-resolution imaging to study the nanoworld on the time-scale of atomic motions. We identify X-ray Fourier Transform holography, (FTH) as a promising but, so far, inefficient scheme to do this. We show that a uniformly redundant array (URA) placed next to the sample, multiplies the efficiency of X-ray FTH by more than one thousand (approaching that of a perfect lens) and provides holographic images with both amplitude- and phase-contrast information. The experiments reported here demonstrate this concept by imaging a nano-fabricated object at a synchrotron source, and a bacterial cell at a soft X-ray free-electron-laser, where illumination by a single 15 fs pulse was successfully used in producing the holographic image. We expect with upcoming hard X-ray lasers to achieve considerably higher spatial resolution and to obtain ultrafast movies of excited states of matter.