Generation of highly coherent extreme ultraviolet source and its application in diffraction imaging

We report the generation of small bandwidth highly coherent extreme ultraviolet radiation and the application of this source in coherent diffractive transmission microscope. Using a focussed narrow-bandwidth high harmonic generation (HHG) source with wavelength around 30 nm we achieve a resolution of ∼45 nm with a sample size down to 3 μm × 3 μm in a very short exposure time of <8 s. The experimental scheme is able for imaging sub-10 nm scale objects with an inexpensive table-top, commercially available femtosecond laser system.