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Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Digital Inline Holographic Microscopy (DIHM) of Weakly-scattering Subjects
Published on: February 8, 2014
Holographic soft X-ray omni-microscopy of biological specimens
Erik Guehrs1, Christian M Günther, René Könnecke
1Institut für Optik und Atomare Physik, Technische Universität Berlin, Hardenbergstr. 36, 10623 Berlin, Germany.
Abstract:
Mask-based digital soft X-ray Fourier transform holography using coherent synchrotron radiation is applied to image diatoms and freeze-dried 3T3 fibroblast cells. At soft X-ray wavelengths between 4 nm and 8 nm we achieve spatial resolutions down to 450 nm over a 33.5 microm field of view. As holography records amplitude and phase of the scattered wavefield, images with different contrast mechanisms can be generated a posteriori by numerical processing of the holographic data ("omni-microscopy"). We present Zernike phase contrast, Schlieren phase contrast, differential interference and gradient contrast images based on amplitude and phase information. We discuss the potential of this approach for destructive single-shot imaging beyond dose limitations of biological samples at coherent femtosecond-pulsed X-ray sources.
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