Water-window microscopy using a compact, laser-plasma SXR source based on a double-stream gas-puff target

We report on a compact, desktop size, laboratory type microscopy setup, based on a short wavelength gas puff target soft X-ray source, which emits incoherent radiation in “water-window” spectral range. The microscope employs a Wolter type I reflective objective and allows capturing magnified images of objects with ~1-μm spatial resolution and exposure time as low as 5 s. A detailed characterization and optimization of both the source and the microscope setups are presented and discussed.