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We report on a compact, desktop size, laboratory type microscopy setup, based on a short wavelength gas puff target soft X-ray source, which emits incoherent radiation in ''water-window'' spectral range. The microscope employs a Wolter type I reflective objective and allows capturing magnified images of objects with *1-lm spatial resolution and exposure time as low as 5 s. A detailed characterization and optimization of both the source and the microscope setups are presented and discussed.

We present a compact laboratory system for near edge soft X-ray fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy that was developed using a laser-plasma light source. The source is based on a double stream gas puff target. The plasma is formed by the interaction of a laser beam with the double stream gas puff target approach. The laser plasma source was optimized for efficient soft X-ray emission from a krypton/helium target in the range of 1.5 to 5 nm wavelength. This emission is used to acquire simultaneously the emission and absorption spectra of soft X-ray light from the source and from the investigated sample using a grazing incidence spectrometer. The measurements in the transmission mode reveal the features near the carbon K-α absorption edge of thin PET film. From those features, the composition of the sample was successfully obtained. The data are in agreement with synchrotron measurements. In the paper, the detailed information about the source, its optimization, the system, spectral measurements and the results are presented and discussed.

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We report on a very compact desk-top transmission extreme ultraviolet (EUV) microscope based on a laser-plasma source with a double stream gas-puff target, capable of acquiring magnified images of objects with a spatial (half-pitch) resolution of sub-50 nm. A multilayer ellipsoidal condenser is used to focus and spectrally narrow the radiation from the plasma, producing a quasi-monochromatic EUV radiation (λ = 13.8 nm) illuminating the object, whereas a Fresnel zone plate objective forms the image. Design details, development, characterization and optimization of the EUV source and the microscope are described and discussed. Test object and other samples were imaged to demonstrate superior resolution compared to visible light microscopy.

research, such as mask inspection [6,7]-reaching 22-nm half pitch resolution or lithography [8], as well as free electron lasers [9] for coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) schemes [10]. These facilities, although state of the art and dedicated to cutting-edge science experiments, are not "user friendly," with limited user access and require high maintenance costs, because of their scale and complexity. Another approach is to use tabletop high-order harmonic (HHG) sources [11] for sub-100-nm spatial resolution imaging [12]; however, typical 10 −6 -10 −5 HHG conversion efficiency is very low and often does not allow for a proper reconstruction [13], the system is very complicated, and typical CDI requires time-consuming numerical data processing. Ptychographic schemes, although providing very high spatial resolution, are serial in nature, extensively time-consuming and computationally demanding.To partially overcome these limitations, other compact EUV sources, such as discharge [14], Z-pinch [15] or laserproduced plasma sources [16], coupled to zone plates or Schwarzschild mirrors, were used. The first one is compact and shows very good spatial resolution, but requires often (~30 k pulses) capillary replacements, the second one demonstrates quite low performance in terms of spatial resolution and field of view exploiting inadequate mode of imaging for lithographic mask inspection, while the last one requires debris mitigation schemes.The use of compact, short-wavelength sources often does not allow for high signal-to-noise ratio image acquisition. An example of that are recent developments in soft X-ray (SXR) microscopy in so-called water window, such as a compact soft X-ray microscope based on a single nitrogen gas jet, capable of resolving features ~100 nm later improved to ~50 nm in size providing high spatial resolution; however, the exposure time for Siemens star test pattern was equal to 1-2 h, limiting the usability of Abstract A compact, desktop size microscope, based on laser-plasma source and equipped with reflective condenser and diffractive Fresnel zone plate objective, operating in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) region at the wavelength of 13.8 nm, was developed. The microscope is capable of capturing magnified images of objects with 95-nm full-pitch spatial resolution (48 nm 25-75% KE) and exposure time as low as a few seconds, combining reasonable acquisition conditions with stand-alone desktop footprint. Such EUV microscope can be regarded as a complementary imaging tool to already existing, well-established ones. Details about the microscope, characterization, resolution estimation and real sample images are presented and discussed.

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