Material-specific high-resolution table-top extreme ultraviolet microscopy.

Microscopy with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation holds promise for high-resolution imaging with excellent material contrast, due to the short wavelength and numerous element-specific absorption edges available in this spectral range. At the same time, EUV radiation has significantly larger penetration depths than electrons. It thus enables a nano-scale view into complex three-dimensional structures that are important for material science, semiconductor metrology, and next-generation nano-devices. Here, we present high-resolution and material-specific microscopy at 13.5 nm wavelength. We combine a highly stable, high photon-flux, table-top EUV source with an interferometrically stabilized ptychography setup. By utilizing structured EUV illumination, we overcome the limitations of conventional EUV focusing optics and demonstrate high-resolution microscopy at a half-pitch lateral resolution of 16 nm. Moreover, we propose mixed-state orthogonal probe relaxation ptychography, enabling robust phase-contrast imaging over wide fields of view and long acquisition times. In this way, the complex transmission of an integrated circuit is precisely reconstructed, allowing for the classification of the material composition of mesoscopic semiconductor systems.

Ultraviolet dual comb spectroscopy: a roadmap.

Dual Comb Spectroscopy proved its versatile capabilities in molecular fingerprinting in different spectral regions, but not yet in the ultraviolet (UV). Unlocking this spectral window would expand fingerprinting to the electronic energy structure of matter. This will access the prime triggers of photochemical reactions with unprecedented spectral resolution. In this research article, we discuss the milestones marking the way to the first UV dual comb spectrometer. We present experimental and simulated studies towards UV dual comb spectroscopy, directly applied to planned absorption measurements of formaldehyde (centered at 343 nm, 3.6 eV) and argon (80 nm, 16 eV). This will enable an unparalleled relative resolution of up to 10-9 - with a table-top UV source surpassing any synchrotron-linked spectrometer by at least two and any grating-based UV spectrometer by up to six orders of magnitude.

Agile spectral tuning of high order harmonics by interference of two driving pulses.

In this work, the experimental realization of a tunable high photon flux extreme ultraviolet light source is presented. This is enabled by high harmonic generation of two temporally delayed driving pulses with a wavelength of 1030 nm, resulting in a tuning range of 0.8 eV at the 19th harmonic at 22.8 eV. The implemented approach allows for fast tuning of the spectrum, is highly flexible and is scalable towards full spectral coverage at higher photon energies.

Wavelength-scale ptychographic coherent diffractive imaging using a high-order harmonic source.

Ptychography enables coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) of extended samples by raster scanning across the illuminating XUV/X-ray beam, thereby generalizing the unique advantages of CDI techniques. Table-top realizations of this method are urgently needed for many applications in sciences and industry. Previously, it was only possible to image features much larger than the illuminating wavelength with table-top ptychography although knife-edge tests suggested sub-wavelength resolution. However, most real-world imaging applications require resolving of the smallest and closely-spaced features of a sample in an extended field of view. In this work, resolving features as small as 2.5 λ (45 nm) using a table-top ptychography setup is demonstrated by employing a high-order harmonic XUV source with record-high photon flux. For the first time, a Rayleigh-type criterion is used as a direct and unambiguous resolution metric for high-resolution table-top setup. This reliably qualifies this imaging system for real-world applications e.g. in biological sciences, material sciences, imaging integrated circuits and semiconductor mask inspection.

Dual-color dual-focus line-scanning FCS for quantitative analysis of receptor-ligand interactions in living specimens.

Cellular communication in multi-cellular organisms is mediated to a large extent by a multitude of cell-surface receptors that bind specific ligands. An in-depth understanding of cell signaling networks requires quantitative information on ligand-receptor interactions within living systems. In principle, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) based methods can provide such data, but live-cell applications have proven extremely challenging. Here, we have developed an integrated dual-color dual-focus line-scanning fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (2c2f lsFCS) technique that greatly facilitates live-cell and tissue experiments. Absolute ligand and receptor concentrations and their diffusion coefficients within the cell membrane can be quantified without the need to perform additional calibration experiments. We also determine the concentration of ligands diffusing in the medium outside the cell within the same experiment by using a raster image correlation spectroscopy (RICS) based analysis. We have applied this robust technique to study the interactions of two Wnt antagonists, Dickkopf1 and Dickkopf2 (Dkk1/2), to their cognate receptor, low-density-lipoprotein-receptor related protein 6 (LRP6), in the plasma membrane of living HEK293T cells. We obtained significantly lower affinities than previously reported using in vitro studies, underscoring the need to measure such data on living cells or tissues.