Experimental geometry for simultaneous beam characterization and sample imaging allowing for pink beam Fourier transform holography or coherent diffractive imaging

One consequence of the self-amplified stimulated emission process used to generate x rays in free electron lasers (FELs) is the intrinsic shot-to-shot variance in the wavelength and temporal coherence. In order to optimize the results from diffractive imaging experiments at FEL sources, it will be advantageous to acquire a means of collecting coherence and spectral information simultaneously with the diffraction pattern from the sample we wish to study. We present a holographic mask geometry, including a grating structure, which can be used to extract both temporal and spatial coherence information alongside the sample scatter from each individual FEL shot and also allows for the real space reconstruction of the sample using either Fourier transform holography or iterative phase retrieval. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America