We have demonstrated near-wavelength resolution microscopy in the extreme ultraviolet. Images of $50\mathrm{nm}$ diameter nanotubes were obtained with a single $\sim 1\mathrm{ns}$ duration pulse from a desktop-size $46.9\mathrm{nm}$ laser. We measured the modulation transfer function of the microscope for three different numerical aperture zone plate objectives, demonstrating that $54\mathrm{nm}$ half-period structures can be resolved. The combination of near-wavelength spatial resolution and high temporal resolution opens myriad opportunities in imaging, such as the ability to directly investigate dynamics of nanoscale structures.

Single-shot ablative spallation and fragmentation thresholds, as well as corresponding ablative crater depths, were measured on the surface of iron using optical interferometry, for different...

The geometrical aberrations theory of a centered system is applied to calculate the third order aberrations of the optical system based on two spherical mirrors (the so-called Schwarzschild objective). The role of each of the third order field aberrations in the formation of the view field is analyzed. The scaling effect (i.e., the relationship between the optics' geometrical dimensions and the spatial resolution) is studied. The performance of a 21 x Schwarzschild objective (including the nonconcentric scheme) is investigated using a ray-tracing computer simulation. The tolerances of the axial and lateral alignments of the Schwarzs- child objective are found and the results are used to design a soft x-ray optical system based on multilayer mirrors to provide low geometrical aberrations (spatial resolution about 0.05 ?m) and a view field up to 300 ?m. Soft x-ray imaging microscope experiments demonstrate good accordance with the predicted performance of the optics. High resolution optics such as these can be a good basis for the optical instrumentation in soft x-ray microscopy, extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL), microanalysis, etc.

We demonstrate the first real-space recording of nanoscale dynamic interactions using single-shot soft x-ray (SXR) full-field laser microscopy. A sequence of real-space flash images acquired with a table-top SXR laser was used to capture the motion of a rapidly oscillating magnetic nanoprobe. Changes of 30 nm in the oscillation amplitude were detected when the nanoprobe was made to interact with stray fields from a magnetic sample. The table-top visualization of nanoscale dynamics in real space can significantly contribute to the understanding of nanoscale processes and can accelerate the development of new nanodevices.

A novel hybrid ultrahard polycrystalline composite material has been produced by the reinforcement of the polycrystalline diamond composite thermostable material with a CVD grown polycrystalline...

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