READ-OUT INSTRUMENTATION FOR X-RAY CONTACT MICROSCOPY

A SOFT X-RAY LASER AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY (18.2 NM WAVELENGTH, 10-30 NSEC PULSES) CAN PRODUCE IMAGES OF LIVE CELLS IN WATER ON RESIST. IN COLLABORATION WITH PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, PRINCETON X-RAY LASER, INC., IS DEVELOPING LASERS WITH SHORTER WAVELENGTHS. THERE ARE REALISTIC PROSPECTS FOR OBTAINING LASER ACTION BELOW 10 NM, DOWN TO 1 NM. VIABLE BIOMEDICAL USE REQUIRES METHODS TO RETRIEVE INFORMATION CONVENIENTLY AND ACCURATELY FROM X-RAY-EXPOSED RESISTS; EVENTUALLY, LATERAL AND VERTICAL RESOLUTIONS NM MUST BE OBTAINED. CURRENT MICROSCOPIES ARE UNLIKELY TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS. THIS PROJECT AIMS AT APPLYING NOVELMICROSCOPIES TO THE READ-OUT PROBLEM. IN PHASE I, IMAGES OF CELLS PRODUCED BY THE X-RAY LASER WILLBE EXAMINED BY NOMARSKI (NM), SCANNING ELECTRON (SEM), SCANNING TUNNELING (STM), AND ATOMIC FORCE (AFM) MICROSCOPIES TO ESTABLISH THE MOST EFFECTIVE METHODS OF MODIFYING THE STM WITH AN AFM-SENSING HEAD FOR READING OUT PHOTORESISTS. THE GOAL OF PHASE II WILL BE CONSTRUCTION OF A USER-FRIENDLYINSTRUMENT, BASED ON STM WITH AN AFM HEAD, FOR READ-OUT OF RESISTS WITH IMAGES OF BIOLOGICAL CELLS WITH ACCURACIES OF 10 NM. IN THE FINAL STAGES OF PHASE II, THIS INSTRUMENT WILL BE APPLIED TO IMMUNE SYSTEMS AND CANCER CELLS. LATER EFFORTS WILL PRODUCE A COMMERCIAL PROTOTYPE OF THE INSTRUMENT.