ARGONNE, Ill., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- A U.S.-led team of scientists has developed a lensless X-ray technique that can record images of extremely tiny structures in nanoparticles and nanomaterials.
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory -- working with scientists from the University of California-Los Angeles, the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University in Melbourne and the Australian Synchrotron -- developed a way to examine internal and buried structures in micrometer-sized samples on the scale of nanometers. The scientists said the development might contribute to the understanding of disease and its eradication, healing after injury, cancer and cell death.
X-ray resolution has traditionally been limited by lens technology, said Ian McNulty, the lead Argonne author of the study. "The new lensless technique avoids that limitation by using sophisticated algorithms to reconstruct the image," he said.
He said the technique can be extended beyond the current resolution of about 20 nanometers to image the internal structure of micrometer-sized samples at finer resolution, reaching deep into the nanometer scale.
The development of the new technique is reported in the journal Physical Review Letters.
