Sub-15 nm beam confinement by two crossed x-ray waveguides

We have combined two high transmission planar x-ray waveguides glued onto each other in a crossed geometry to form an effective quasi-point source. From measurements of the far-field diffraction pattern, the phase and amplitude of the near-field distribution is retrieved using the error-reduction algorithm. In agreement with finite difference field simulations (forward calculation), the reconstructed exit wave intensity distribution (inverse calculation) exhibits a full width at half maximum (FWHM) below 15 nm in both dimensions. Finally, holographic imaging is successfully demonstrated for the crossed waveguide device by translation of a lithographic test structure through the waveguide beam. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America