Twinmic: a European twin microscope station combining full-field imaging and scanning microscopy

The two types of X-ray microscopes, scanning and full-field imaging, have different but complementary capabilities in term of image acquisition and spectroscopies. The novel approach used for the first time in the EU RT and D project 'Twinmic' (HPRI-CT-2001-50024) aims at building of a multipurpose end-station combining scanning and full-field imaging microscopes with easy switch between the two modes. The twin microscope iS expected to achieve the state-of-art performance of both microscopy modes in fast imaging, tomography and spectroscopy (μ-XANES/XRF), allowing new class of experiments in exploration of heterogeneous phenomena of the matter at mesoscopic length scales. (authors)