A new scanning transmission X-ray microscope for the soft X-ray region is u
nder construction at the BESSY II storage ring. The radiation from the undu
lator U-41 is monochromatized with a monochromator consisting of a plane mi
rror and a plane grating with varied line density. For a high resolution im
age, the zone plate is scanned with a piezoelectric flexure stage. The X-ra
y flux in the focal spot will be of the order of 10(9) photons/s. The sampl
e is located in air. A pn-CCD detector is used to measure the transmitted i
ntensity. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.