A novel, compact, large field, and spectrally tunable imaging x-ray microsc
ope is presented. It is based on the use of an isotropic point x-ray source
and a spherically curved crystal. The x-ray beam intensity is modulated by
the object attenuation, then monochromatized and enlarged using a spherica
l crystal and, finally, imaged using a detector downstream from the crystal
. We demonstrate by ray tracing simulations that this system allows microsc
opy studies with high spatial resolution, high magnification ratios, and la
rge field of view. Microscopes using this model can be easily built using d
ifferent x-ray sources, like conventional x-ray tube generators, x rays emi
tted by laser-generated plasmas or x-pinch plasmas, and also synchrotron ra
diation when used in combination with other condenser optics. Preliminary e
xperiments are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed set
up. High resolution (similar to4 mum) monochromatic (delta lambda/lambda si
milar to 10(-5)-10(-3)) images over a large field of view (few mm(2)) were
recorded in the spectral range 8-14 Angstrom using a laser-generated plasma
source and a spherical mica crystal. Compared to x-ray crystal imagers use
d in relation with plasma sources, the new configuration produces high qual
ity stigmatic images working at many different Bragg angles, thus improving
the spectral tunability and allowing a more flexible design. (C) 2001 Amer
ican Institute of Physics.