Instrument Development: A lab-scale soft X-ray microscope for biological systems

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This instrument development application proposes the construction of a laboratory based, laser driven, water window x-ray microscope, capable of label free, nanometre spatial resolution, of biological samples with minimal sample damage.The system makes use of the coherent nature of the x-ray radiation generated by high harmonic generation (HHG) from intense short pulse laser pulses. The coherent radiation is the basis of lensless imaging using algorithmic phase reconstruction (e.g. Coherent Diffraction Imaging and Ptychography).The project builds on the current 29 nm imaging systems developed at Southampton and using recent advances in reliable fibre based laser technologies and in line with the Rosalind Franklin Institutes aims, will produce a system with more than an order of magnitude increase in both spatial resolution, data acquisition time, and enable the imaging of hydrated samples with minimal sample damage.The system will be tested with several collaborations and in conjunction with the RFI and Harwell Research Complex imaging capabilities, and will be engineered to become a reliable facility to complement existing capabilities at the Central Laser Facility