High-performance 4-nm-resolution X-ray tomography using burst ptychography

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Aidukas, Tomas; Phillips, Nicholas W.; Diaz, Ana; Poghosyan, Emiliya; Mueller, Elisabeth; Levi, A. F. J.; Aeppli, Gabriel; Guizar-Sicairos, Manuel; Holler, Mirko
• 署名单位: Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; Paul Scherrer Institute; University of Southern California; Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; ETH Zurich; Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne; Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; ETH Zurich; Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO); CSIRO Mineral Resources
• 刊物名称: Nature
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0028-4928
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07615-6
• 发表日期: 2024-08-01
• 关键词: phase retrieval; optimization; microscopy; algorithm

摘要

Advances in science, medicine and engineering rely on breakthroughs in imaging, particularly for obtaining multiscale, three-dimensional information from functional systems such as integrated circuits or mammalian brains. Achieving this goal often requires combining electron- and photon-based approaches. Whereas electron microscopy provides nanometre resolution through serial, destructive imaging of surface layers1, ptychographic X-ray computed tomography2 offers non-destructive imaging and has recently achieved resolutions down to seven nanometres for a small volume3. Here we implement burst ptychography, which overcomes experimental instabilities and enables much higher performance, with 4-nanometre resolution at a 170-times faster acquisition rate, namely, 14,000 resolution elements per second. Another key innovation is tomographic back-propagation reconstruction4, allowing us to image samples up to ten times larger than the conventional depth of field. By combining the two innovations, we successfully imaged a state-of-the-art (seven-nanometre node) commercial integrated circuit, featuring nanostructures made of low- and high-density materials such as silicon and metals, which offer good radiation stability and contrast at the selected X-ray wavelength. These capabilities enabled a detailed study of the chip's design and manufacturing, down to the level of individual transistors. We anticipate that the combination of nanometre resolution and higher X-ray flux at next-generation X-ray sources will have a revolutionary impact in fields ranging from electronics to electrochemistry and neuroscience. X-ray computed tomography is combined with burst ptychography and filtered back-propagation to achieve high-speed, three-dimensional imaging of features as small as 4 nm.