Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy at the Advanced Light Source

Over 50 years of development, synchrotron based X-ray microscopy has become a routine and powerful tool for the analysis of nanoscale structure and chemistry in many areas of science. Scanning X-ray microscopy is particularly well suited to the study of chemical and magnetic states of matter and has become available at most synchrotron light sources using a variety of optical schemes, detectors and sample environments. The Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has an extensive program of soft X-ray scanning microscopy which supports a broad range of scientific research using a suite of advanced tools for high spatio-temporal resolution and control of active materials. Instruments operating within an energy range between 200–2500 eV with spatial resolution down to 7 nm and sub 20 picosecond time resolution are available. These capabilities can be routinely used in combination with a variety of sample stimuli, including gas or fluid flow, temperature control from 100 to 1200 K, DC bias and pulsed or continuous microwave excitation. We present here a complete survey of our instruments, their most advanced capabilities and a perspective on how they complement each other to solve complex problems in energy, materials and environmental science.