A New Method of Phase-Contrast Microscopy of Microobjects Using a Nanofocusing Lens in Synchrotron Radiation

The first results obtained by a new experimental method for phase-contrast microscopy of microobjects using synchrotron radiation and a nanofocusing lens in a cone-beam geometry are presented. In the experiment, a secondary radiation source is formed in the lens focus located at a small distance from the microobject, enabling the acquisition of its magnified image. Under the near-field regime, the microobject structure can relatively easily be determined from the experimental image using the transport of intensity equation. The experiment was performed at the KISI-Kurchatov synchrotron radiation source. A model weakly absorbing microobject—commercially available carbon fiber of grade VMN-4—was used. The obtained fiber dimensions and structural features, resolved with submicron spatial resolution, are consistent with the electron microscopy data.