SOFT-X-RAY MICROSCOPE WITH ZONE-PLATE AT UVSOR

A soft X-ray microscope with zone plates was set up at UVSOR [synchrot ron radiation facility (750MeV, 200mA) at Institute for Molecular Scie nce, Okazaki, Japan]. A 50nm line & space pattern could be resolved at lambda=3.2nm. With an environmental chamber (wet cell) using SiN wind ows, wet biological specimens, such as letus protoplasts, rabbit myofi brils, tubulin of COS cell and Deinococcus radiodurans strains, could be observed at lambda=2.5nm. In the present microscope, the numerical aperture of the condenser was much smaller than that of the objective. To adjust both the numerical apertures, an ellipsoidal condenser mirr or system was tested, and preliminary result (an image of Cu mesh, 12. 7 mu m pitch) was obtained.