Multiscale element mapping of buried structures by ptychographic x-ray diffraction microscopy using anomalous scattering

We propose an element mapping technique of nano-meso-microscale structures buried within large and/or thick objects by ptychographic x-ray diffraction microscopy using anomalous scattering. We performed quantitative imagings of both the electron density and Au element of Au/Ag nanoparticles at the pixel resolution of better than 10 nm in a field of view larger than 5 x 5 mu m(2) by directly phasing ptychographic coherent diffraction patterns acquired at two x-ray energies below the Au L-3 edge. This method provides us with multiscale structural and elemental information for understanding the element/property relationship linking nanoscale structures to macroscopic functional properties in material and biological systems. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3644396]