No Arabic abstract
Established x-ray diffraction methods allow for high-resolution structure determination of crystals, crystallized protein structures or even single molecules. While these techniques rely on coherent scattering, incoherent processes like Compton scattering or fluorescence emission -- often the predominant scattering mechanisms -- are generally considered detrimental for imaging applications. Here we show that intensity correlations of incoherently scattered x-ray radiation can be used to image the full 3D structure of the scattering atoms with significantly higher resolution compared to conventional coherent diffraction imaging and crystallography, including additional three-dimensional information in Fourier space for a single sample orientation. We present a number of properties of incoherent diffractive imaging that are conceptually superior to those of coherent methods.
Knowledge gained through X-ray crystallography fostered structural determination of materials and greatly facilitated the development of modern science and technology in the past century. Atomic details of sample structures is achievable by X-ray crystallography, however, it is only applied to crystalline structures. Imaging techniques based on X-ray coherent diffraction or zone plates are capable of resolving the internal structure of non-crystalline materials at nanoscales, but it is still a challenge to achieve atomic resolution. Here we demonstrate a novel lensless Fourier-transform ghost imaging method with pseudo-thermal hard X-rays by measuring the second-order intensity correlation function of the light. We show that high resolution Fourier-transform diffraction pattern of a complex amplitude sample can be achieved at Fresnel region and the amplitude and phase distributions of a sample in spatial domain can be retrieved successfully. The method of lensless X-ray Fourier-transform ghost imaging extends X-ray crystallography to non-crystalline samples, and its spatial resolution is limited only by the wavelength of the X-ray, thus atomic resolution should be routinely obtainable. Since highly coherent X-ray source is not required, comparing to conventional X-ray coherent diffraction imaging, the method can be implemented with laboratory X-ray sources, and it also provides a potential solution for lensless diffraction imaging with fermions, such as neutron and electron where the intensive coherent source usually is not available.
The two-point complex coherence function constitutes a complete representation for scalar quasi-monochromatic optical fields. Exploiting dynamically reconfigurable slits implemented with a digital micromirror device, we report on measurements of the complex two-point coherence function for partially coherent light scattering from a `scene comprising one or two objects at different transverse and axial positions with respect to the source. Although the intensity shows no discernible shadows in absence of a lens, numerically back-propagating the measured complex coherence function allows estimating the objects sizes and locations -- and thus the reconstruction of the scene.
Attosecond science has been transforming our understanding of electron dynamics in atoms, molecules and solids. However, to date almost all of the attoscience experiments have been based on spectroscopic measurements because attosecond pulses have intrinsically very broad spectra due to the uncertainty principle and are incompatible with conventional imaging systems. Here we report an important advance towards achieving attosecond coherent diffractive imaging. Using simulated attosecond pulses, we simultaneously reconstruct the spectrum, 17 probes and 17 spectral images of extended objects from a set of ptychographic diffraction patterns. We further confirm the principle and feasibility of this method by successfully performing a ptychographic coherent diffractive imaging experiment using a light-emitting diode with a broad spectrum. We believe this work clear the way to an unexplored domain of attosecond imaging science, which could have a far-reaching impact across different disciplines.
The inversion of a diffraction pattern offers aberration-free diffraction-limited 3D images without the resolution and depth-of-field limitations of lens-based tomographic systems, the only limitation being radiation damage. We review our experimental results, discuss the fundamental limits of this technique and future plans.
We report an experimental demonstration of a nonclassical imaging mechanism with super-resolving power beyond the Rayleigh limit. When the classical image is completely blurred out due to the use of a small imaging lens, by taking advantage of the intensity fluctuation correlation of thermal light, the demonstrated camera recovered the image of the resolution testing gauge. This method could be adapted to long distance imaging, such as satellite imaging, which requires large diameter camera lenses to achieve high image resolution.