4th generation synchrotron source boosts crystalline imaging at the nanoscale

Abstract

New 4th-generation synchrotron sources, with their increased brilliance, promise to greatly improve the performances of coherent X-ray microscopy. This perspective is of major interest for crystal microscopy, which aims at revealing the 3D crystalline structure of matter at the nanoscale, an approach strongly limited by the available coherent flux. Our results, based on Bragg ptychography experiments performed at the first 4th-generation synchrotron source, demonstrate the possibility of retrieving a high-quality image of the crystalline sample, with unprecedented quality. Importantly, the larger available coherent flux produces datasets with enough information to overcome experimental limitations, such as strongly deteriorated scanning conditions. We show this achievement would not be possible with 3rd-generation sources, a limit that has inhibited the development of this otherwise powerful microscopy method, so far. Hence, the advent of next-generation synchrotron sources not only makes Bragg ptychography suitable for high throughput studies but also strongly relaxes the associated experimental constraints, making it compatible with a wider range of experimental set-ups at the new synchrotrons.

Next generation lanthanide doped nanoscintillators and photon converters

“…X-ray shows strong penetration ability even in dense matters [45,46], which was first found by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895 [47] and then broadly used in many fields [48,49]. The hard X-ray (0.01-0.1 nm) is generally used for space exploration and non-destructive inspection of industrial equipment [11,12], while the soft X-ray (0.1-10 nm) is widely employed in medical diagnosis and CT [9,35]. Two types of X-ray detector are generally used to realize these practical applications; one is direct conversion of X-ray photons into electrical signals utilizing semiconductor materials (i.e., amorphous selenium) [50,51].…”

“…The scintillator screen is placed under the target to absorb the transmitted X-ray photons. For examples, a low dose of X-rays penetrating live organisms enables the application of computed tomography, while penetrating nonliving matter enables product quality and security inspection [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. The X-ray The ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) capped NaGdF 4 :Ce/Tb NSs exhibited reduced afterglow and highly efficient XEOL, which was demonstrated for high resolution XEOL imaging.…”

“…X-rays are electromagnetic waves with short wavelength and strong penetrability in physical matter including live organisms [1][2][3][4]. Scintillators that are capable of converting X-rays into ultraviolet (UV), visible or near infrared (NIR) photons [5,6], are widely employed to realize indirect X-ray detection and XEOL imaging in medical diagnosis [7,8], computed tomography (CT) [9,10], space exploration [11,12] as well as in non-destructive industrial material [13,14] and security inspections [15,16]. Commercial bulk scintillators, such as CaWO 4 [17], NaI: Tl [18], (Lu,Y) 2 SiO 5 :Ce (LYSO:Ce) [19] and Bi 4 Ge 3 O 12 (BGO) [20], possess high light yield (LY) and superior energy resolution; however, they suffer from serval drawbacks, i.e., complex fabrication procedures, expensive experimental equipment, nontunable XEOL wavelength and poor device processability [21,22].…”

Chemical limits on X-ray nanobeam studies in water

“…4 In addition, the focused coherent X-ray beams now available at modern synchrotrons can be used for advanced imaging techniques, which can give phase and absorption contrast images via ptychography 5,6 and high-resolution strain maps in three dimensions via Bragg coherent imaging (BCDI) 7 and Bragg ptychography. 8,9 While X-rays typically offer lower spatial resolution than electrons do, their penetrating power seems to allow application to complex environments and operating conditions. 10 This is part of the motivation for recently investing in modern nanofocus instruments at most of the world's synchrotrons, [11][12][13][14][15] enabling operando experiments with a variety of nanobeam techniques.…”

Towards routine 3D characterization of intact mesoscale samples by multi-scale and multimodal scanning X-ray tomography

“…Meanwhile, at the dawn of 4th generation synchrotron sources, routine 3D scanning X-ray tomography is becoming within reach. Indeed, the two orders of magnitude larger flux available at 4th generation hard X-ray nanoprobes boosts the speed of scanning tomography measurements proportionally, paving the way towards high-throughput scanning X-ray tomography of mesoscale samples 24 . Hence, the implementation of robust, user-friendly scanning tomography workflow is crucial for the routine application of these techniques, similarly as has been published recently for high-throughput electron tomography 25 .…”