Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy with a fast framing pixel detector.

Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) is a powerful imaging technique, in which a small X-ray probe is raster scanned across a specimen. Complete knowledge of the complex-valued transmission function of the specimen can be gained using detection schemes whose every-day use, however, is often hindered by the need of specialized configured detectors or by slow or noisy readout of area detectors. We report on sub-50 nm-resolution STXM studies in the hard X-ray regime using the PILATUS, a fully pixelated fast framing detector operated in single-photon counting mode. We demonstrate a range of imaging modes, including phase contrast and dark-field imaging. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.