X-ray nanovision

Abstract

Startling three-dimensional images of nanoparticles have been obtained with an X-ray microscope, showing crystal deformation in unprecedented detail. The trick is not to focus the X-rays, but to diffract them. Imagine an imaging device with resolution more than 1,000 times better than an optical microscope and capable of seeing deep inside objects. Such is the promise of an X-ray microscope , which has been the dream of scientists since X-rays were discovered over a century ago. On page 63 of this issue 1 , Ian Robinson and colleagues present a significant step towards realizing this dream, using the technique of coherent X-ray diffraction imaging. Their results demonstrate the power of X-ray microscopy to create three-dimensional images at the nanoscale, and indicate a clear path towards the ultimate X-ray microscope with atomic-scale resolution. There is an acute need in nanotechnology for images with atomic-scale resolution.