Selin, M.; Fogelqvist, E.; Holmberg, A.; Guttmann, P.; Vogt, U.; Hertz, H.M.: 3D simulation of the image formation in soft x-ray microscopes. Optics Express 22 (2014), p. 30756-30768
10.1364/OE.22.030756
Open Access Version
Abstract:
In water-window soft x-ray microscopy the studied object is typically larger than the depth of focus and the sample illumination is often partially coherent. This blurs out-of-focus features and may introduce considerable fringing. Understanding the influence of these phenomena on the image formation is therefore important when interpreting experimental data. Here we present a wave-propagation model operating in 3D for simulating the image formation of thick objects in partially coherent soft xray microscopes. The model is compared with present simulation methods as well as with experiments. The results show that our model predicts the image formation of transmission soft x-ray microscopes more accurately than previous models.