Hosted by: Sushil Sharma and Mary Carlucci-Dayton

The Hard X-ray Nanoprobe (HXN) beamline at NSLS-II has been designed and constructed to enable imaging experiments with unprecedented spatial resolution and detection sensitivity. The HXN x-ray Microscope is a key instrument for the beamline, providing a suite of experimental capabilities which includes scanning fluorescence, diffraction, differential phase contrast and ptychography utilizing Multilayer Laue Lenses (MLL) and zone plates (ZP) as nanofocusing optics. During this presentation, different phases of the X-ray microscope development process will be reviewed. Various prototype systems designed and constructed prior to completion of the HXN-microscope will be discussed. Experimental data demonstrating ~15 x 15 nm spatial resolution imaging using MLL optics will be presented. I will discuss instrumentational challenges associated with high spatial resolution imaging and will outline future development plans.