Abstract

Soft x-ray contact microscopy (SXCM) is a form of x-ray lithography; however, the biological cell is imaged. Imaging of the biological sample is by soft x- rays within the "water window," which has an energy range of 277–525 eV. The contrast mechanism is based upon the x-ray absorption lengths of carbon and nitrogen, which are ~10 times shorter than that of oxygen in the "water window." In previous experiments at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory PHOENIX laser facility, the major result was the first high-resolution (~30 nm) x-ray micrographs of living mammalian cells, CHO-SC1. One of the images showed chromosomes in the mitotic stage. Future efforts at Los Alamos National Laboratory will be the utilization of the Free Electron Laser and in-house laser-produced plasmas as x-ray sources, the use of atomic force microscopy to read the resists, the development of thin window technology and resist applications, the use of multilayer and Fresnel zone plate x-ray optics for holographic purposes, and the use of biological agents to enhance the x-ray images of key cellular structures. Biological studies will look at the structure of chromosomes and chromatin in the living cell.

© 1992 Optical Society of America