A gyroscopic system for magnified coherent diffraction imaging

Coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) provides a means of reconstructing phase shifts in a translucent sample, by recording the interference between scattered light signals. The resulting diffraction patterns constitute a 2D Fourier transform of the sample and hence include spectral information. As such, data corresponding to higher spatial frequencies are found at increasingly larger distances from the central axis, making them fainter and more difficult to measure as a result. Conventional techniques have addressed this issue by rastering a beam profiler through the scattered light field. However, this approach limits magnification as the non-normal incidence of scattered light prevents the use of lenses at large angles. As such, we demonstrate a gyroscopic CDI system in which stepper motors are used to rotate a platform housing a beam profiler and a series of magnifying lenses. This assembly allows the scattered signal to be magnified, providing higher spatial resolution, while maintaining normal incidence with the lens surface plane. We will present images collected from an Air Force target card and adherent mammalian cancer cells (PANC-1). These images exhibit higher spatial resolution than samples collected using conventional techniques. As a result, the corresponding reconstructions could provide new insights into sub-cellular morphological changes, indicative of early-stage malignancy in cells.