The objective of this proposal is to demonstrate biologically significant images of wet, unsectioned and unstained specimens with a new type of microscope of a novel and very simple design. In general, this microscope uses soft x- rays as the imaging radiation. The geometry of the microscope is very similar to the field emission microscope. Instead of using a solid emitter, the instrument uses a special cone-like, hollow emitter. The application describes that the specimen to be examined will be placed inside the hemispherical emitter tip, and soft x-rays are beamed through the specimen and onto the tip membrane. Since the tip membrane is transparent to x-rays and is coated with a high efficiency photoemitter, photoelectrons are liberated into the vacuum, outside the emitter tip, in a pattern corresponding to the x-ray absorption of the specimen (contact image). The photoelectrons are accelerated radially to a detector by a high voltage on the emitter. Thus, a magnified, high resolution (100-1000 angstrom), real time image is expected to result. The applicant claims this instrument has the potential for valuable use in biomedicine as specimens can be examined wet, unstained, and unsectioned.
