Development of Wolter Capillary Condenser for High Throughput X-ray Microscopy

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose to develop a Wolter capillary condenser for x-ray microscopy. Its successful development will improve the throughput of tabletop x-ray microscopes by 10 times and significantly reduces the system cost for wide deployment in biomedical laboratories. These benefits result from the superior optical property of the proposed Wolter capillary condenser that enables one to employ high brilliance but low cost x-ray microfocus sources instead of high-cost high-powered rotary anode x-ray generators. The proposing company has developed proprietary technology for producing high-quality single-reflection capillary condensers used in the company's commercial x-ray microscopes. The proposed Wolter capillary condenser requires further development of the company's current capillary fabrication technology to meet the tighter process control because it consists of hyperboloidal and ellipsoidal capillary mirrors that need to be precisely aligned along their axes. Successful completion of the project will make 3-D x-ray microscopy for biological applications more powerful, affordable, and practical. Exciting capabilities include in-situ high resolution 3D imaging of cell and tissue specimens that have undergone little morphological and functional change from their natural living state, and function specific imaging used in combination with established labeling techniques.