Tabletop lensless imaging apparatus using an ultrashort high harmonic XUV source

Optical microscopy has been a driving motor in science for several centuries. One main principle in microscopy is that the smallest resolvable detail in a microscopic image is limited to half the wavelength of the light illuminating the object. To overcome this limitation, the object should be illuminated with shorter wavelengths in the extreme ultra violet (XUV). The main problem in the XUV is the lack of efficient imaging optics and high absorption of solid matter. A possible solution for this is lenseless imaging [1]. Here we present our first experiments towards the realization of a table-top lenseless imaging microscope at 20nm wavelength, offering a spatial resolutions of a few tens of nanometers and a temporal resolution below 30fs. The 20nm light source is based on High Harmonic Generation (HHG) [2].