Patent ID: 9583229
Date: 2017-02-28
CPC Classifications: G01N,G21K

Claim:
1. An X-ray laser microscopy method, said method comprising: obtaining an X-ray port capable of supplying a coherent source of X-ray illumination; obtaining a first X-ray optical device configured to focus and/or collimate X-rays; obtaining a sample administrator, detection apparatus, and vacuum chamber, wherein said X-ray port, first X-ray optical device, and said sample administrator are disposed inside said vacuum chamber so that said first X-ray optical device is in between said X-ray port and said sample administrator, and said sample administrator is substantially in between said first X-ray optical device and said detection apparatus; wherein said detection apparatus comprises at least a first outer portion; reducing pressure in said vacuum chamber to a pressure of 10 using said sample administrator to control a position of a microscopy sample; chilling said first X-ray optical device to temperatures of 20 degrees Kelvin or less; using said X-ray port to provide a burst of coherent X-rays, and using said first X-ray optical device to focus and/or collimate said burst of coherent X-rays onto said microscopy sample on said sample administrator; wherein said burst of coherent X-rays has a time duration between 10 using at least a first portion of said detection apparatus to detect a first signal comprising spatially separated X-rays that have been diffracted at various angles from said microscopy sample; and using at least one computer processor and said first signal to reconstruct a likely representation of a structure of said microscopy sample at a nanometer level of resolution.