Quantitative phase retrieval in transmission hard x-ray microscope

Quantitative phase retrieval with a sub-100-nm resolution is achieved from micrographs of a zone plate based transmission x-ray microscope. A plastic zone plate containing objects of sizes from micrometers down to tens of nanometers is used as a test sample to quantify the retrieved phase. Utilizing the focal serial images in the image plane, the phase information is retrieved quantitatively across the entire range of sizes by combining the transport intensity equation and self-consistent wave propagation methods in this partial coherence system. The study demonstrates a solution to overcome the deficiency encountered in the two phase retrieval approaches.