New X-Ray Microscope Cuts 3D Imaging Time from a Day to an Hour

Title Image: A newly developed X-ray microscope generates 3D images 20× faster than the previous system. This illustration shows multilayer Laue lenses in the new microscope, focusing incoming X-rays onto the microelectronics sample to reveal its internal nanoscale structure.

Scientists have developed a high-speed, low-maintenance X-ray microscope capable of producing 3D images with sub-10 nm resolution in about an hour—a process that previously required as long as a full day.

The new instrument, developed by researchers at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), a US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, combines advanced X-ray optics, high-speed detectors, precision positioning systems, and automated controls to significantly improve the speed and efficiency of nanoscale imaging.

Unlike optical microscopes, which use visible light, X-ray microscopes use X-rays to visualize extremely small internal structures within a sample. Recent advances in X-ray focusing have enabled imaging at the nanometer scale, but achieving that level of resolution has typically required long scan times, generated massive datasets, and increased the risk of radiation damage—particularly when imaging large, sensitive samples such as microelectronic chips and integrated circuits.

The new system addresses those challenges by reducing data acquisition times and improving imaging efficiency by more than a factor of 10 while maintaining high spatial resolution. Its modular design also makes the platform compatible with a variety of nano-focusing optics, positioning it as a foundation for future generations of high-resolution X-ray microscopes.

To achieve the performance gains, the research team designed the microscope to precisely align 1D and 2D multilayer Laue lenses, advanced X-ray focusing optics previously developed with support from the DOE Office of Science. During continuous “fly-scanning,” the system uses line-focusing interferometry as a real-time position encoder, allowing it to accurately track moving samples while collecting data.

The microscope’s scanning hardware and software integrate with the Experimental Physics and Industrial

Control System (EPICS), enabling fully automated operation. The platform achieves a detector-limited acquisition rate of 1.25 kHz—approximately 20× faster than existing NSLS-II microscopes— and researchers say it could reach 10 kHz or higher with faster detectors and increased photon flux.

Initial testing demonstrated a sample-limited spatial resolution of approximately 6 nm in 2D imaging and less than 20 nm in 3D imaging of a microelectronics specimen.

Researchers say the microscope’s adaptable architecture could support the next generation of scanning X-ray microscopes at DOE Office of Science user facilities, enabling faster, higher-resolution characterization of advanced materials and electronic devices.