Further development of soft X-ray scanning microscopy with an elliptical undulator at the Advanced Light Source

Soft x-ray scanning microscopy (1) is under continuing development at the Advanced Light Source. Significant progress has been made implementing new scan control systems in both operational microscopes (2) and they now operate at beam lines 5.3.2 and 11.0.2 with interferometer servo scanning and stabilization. The interferometer servo loop registers the images on a universal x/y coordinate system and locks the x-ray spot on selected features for spectro-microscopic studies. At the present time zone plates are in use with 35nm outer zone width and the imaging spatial resolution is at the diffraction limit of these lenses. Current research programs are underway in areas of polymer chemistry, environmental chemistry and materials science. A dedicated polymer STXM is in operation on a bend magnet beam line (4) and is the subject of a separate article (3) in this issue. Here we focus on the capabilities of STXM at a new beam line that employs an elliptical undulator (5) to give control of the polarization of the x-ray beam. This facility is in the process of commissioning and some results are available, other capabilities will be developed during the first half of 2003