Hard x-ray imaging by scanning 2D multilayer Laue lenses

Multilayer Laue lenses (MLLs) offer a significant advantage over traditional diffraction focusing optics, such as zone plates (ZPs), in terms of efficiency and durability when focusing hard x-rays down to 10nm and below. However, most of the previously reported MLLs microscopy systems pose challenges with samples requiring bulky cells. This is because they all utilize a pair of individual 1D MLLs for nanofocusing. Therefore, during the x-ray experiments, the individually aligned 1D MLL optics remain stationary while the sample is being scanned. In this work, we present an experimental demonstration of scanning our recently developed 2D MLLs while keeping the sample static, which can address this problem. We evaluated the angular stability of the system during the scan and confirmed that it is adequate to keep the MLLs aligned. The initial x-ray measurements showed that the developed system has the potential to achieve sub-10nm imaging resolution.