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A silicon (840) channel-cut crystal with a large asymmetry is used to linearly polarize synchrotron radiation generated by an undulator source at the 14.413 keV nuclear resonance of 57Fe. The resulting σ̂-polarized radiation is then scattered from an 57Fe foil placed in a magnetic field that effects σ̂→π̂ polarization conversion within the resonant bandwidth. A second crystal of the same type is placed in a crossed position to suppress the nonresonant radiation while transmitting the π̂-polarized resonant radiation. A polarization suppression factor of 6×10−7 has been obtained. The suppression of the nonresonant radiation allowed monitoring the decay of the nuclear levels after 1 ns of their excitation.

Motivated by the advanced photon source upgrade, a new hard X-ray microscope called “Velociprobe” has been recently designed and built for fast ptychographic imaging with high spatial resolution. We are addressing the challenges of high-resolution and fast scanning with novel hardware designs, advanced motion controls, and new data acquisition strategies, including the use of high-bandwidth interferometric measurements. The use of granite, air-bearing-supported stages provides the necessary long travel ranges for coarse motion to accommodate real samples and variable energy operation while remaining highly stable during fine scanning. Scanning the low-mass zone plate enables high-speed and high-precision motion of the probe over the sample. With an advanced control algorithm implemented in a closed-loop feedback system, the setup achieves a position resolution (3σ) of 2 nm. The instrument performance is evaluated by 2D fly-scan ptychography with our developed data acquisition strategies. A spatial resolution of 8.8 nm has been demonstrated on a Au test sample with a detector continuous frame rate of 200 Hz. Using a higher flux X-ray source provided by double-multilayer monochromator, we achieve 10 nm resolution for an integrated circuit sample in an ultrafast scan with a detector’s full continuous frame rate of 3000 Hz (0.33 ms per exposure), resulting in an outstanding imaging rate of 9 × 104 resolution elements per second.

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