Soft X-ray imaging of thick carbon-based materials using the normal incidence multilayer optics

The high transparency of carbon-containing materials in the spectral region of “carbon window” ( λ ∼ 4.5–5 nm) introduces new opportunities for various soft X-ray microscopy applications. The development of efficient multilayer coated X-ray optics operating at the wavelengths of about 4.5 nm has stimulated a series of our imaging experiments to study thick biological and synthetic objects. Our experimental set-up consisted of a laser plasma X-ray source generated with the 2nd harmonics of Nd–glass laser, scandium-based thin-film filters, Co/C multilayer mirror and X-ray film UF-4. All soft X-ray images were produced with a single nanosecond exposure and demonstrated appropriate absorption contrast and detector-limited spatial resolution. A special attention was paid to the 3D imaging of thick low-density foam materials to be used in design of laser fusion targets.