X-ray ptychography with a laboratory source

X-ray ptychography has revolutionised nanoscale phase contrast imaging at large-scale synchrotron sources in recent years. We present here the first successful demonstration of the technique in a small-scale laboratory setting. We conducted an experiment with a liquid metal-jet X-ray source and a single photon-counting detector with a high spectral resolution. The experiment used a spot size of 5 microns to produce a ptychographic phase image of a Siemens star test pattern with a sub-micron spatial resolution. The result and methodology presented show how high-resolution phase contrast imaging can now be performed at small-scale laboratory sources worldwide.