Project: Hyperspectral X-ray ptychography for 3D spectroscopic and morphological information at the nanoscale

2020-01-01 – 2023-12-31

Abstract

X-ray ptychography is a lens-less imaging technique which is capable of making X-ray images of objects at ultra-high resolution, down to 10 nm When combined with tomographic acquisition schemes and reconstruction, it allows for non-destructive 3D visualization and analysis of objects and structures at this scale and is as such a very powerful tool in numerous research areas

However, conventional ptychographic tomography only reveals the morphology and does not yield spectroscopic information, necessary for chemical or magnetic sensitivity Combining different datasets, acquired at different X-ray energies, yields this information, yet this is time-consuming and prone to stability issues

In this project, we propose a novel single-acquisition technique for spectroscopic ptychograpy (and by extension spectroscopic ptychographic tomography) using hyperspectral X-ray cameras These detectors allow for accurate determination of the position and energy of every incident photon, recording high-resolution energy spectra for each individual pixel on a (semi-)arbitrary pixel grid Preliminary experiments have proven the feasibility of the technique, yet many challenges remain to make it a robust and mature characterization technique This project aims at tackling these challenges by developing dedicated analysis methodology and leveraging the capabilities of hyperspectral detectors, and applying this novel technique for a number of scientific applications