I08-1 (J08): Welcome to soft X-ray ptychography at Diamond

Conventional scanning X-ray microscopes find applications in all major research fields, in many cases approaching lateral resolutions mostly limited by the diffraction properties of microprobe forming optics. This limitation in lateral resolution can be surpassed  by the so-called 'ptychography' approach, where coherent X-ray light is raster-scanned with high overlap across a specimen of interest. Diffraction patterns are recorded for each position of the raster scan and real-space images are reconstructed by computational methods.

I08-1 (previously named J08) is the Diamond soft X-ray ptychography instrument optimised for imaging and spectromicroscopy at higher lateral resolution than achievable with conventional scanning X-ray microscopes. The instrument shares beamline optics with the I08 instrument and will be operated in its final optimisation stage in the 250 -2000 eV photon energy range although we offer currently only radiation in the 500-1000 eV photon energy range for imaging and limited spectromicroscopy. The I08-1 instrument is designed for and will be upgraded to LN₂ cryogenic specimen environments and ptycho-tomography in the future. Specimen mounts are compatible for both I08 and I08-1 branchlines.

I08-1 is already advanced in offering online live ptychographic processing tools that are steadily improved and upgraded according to requirements of experimenters.