Scanning transmission x-ray microscopy with a configurable detector

A configurable charge-coupled-device (CCD) detector is used in a scanning transmission x-ray microscope to record the transmitted intensity distribution for every pixel in a raster scan of the sample. Real-time processing of the CCD frames gives simultaneous absorption and phase contrast image signals from a single scan. The CCD combines fast frame-transfer readout with very high sensitivity and makes use of x-ray to visible-light coupling to allow operation over a wide range of photon energies, from the oxygen K edge upwards. Tests on the Twinmic end station at the Elettra synchrotron are reported. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.