Material-resolved and thickness-sensitive lensless imaging using high-harmonic generation: From diffractive shear interferometry to ptychography

¹ Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (ARCNL), Science Park 106, 1098 XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands
² Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
³ Imaging Physics Department, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, Delft, The Netherlands

^* e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published online: 22 September 2025

Abstract

Microscopy with table-top high-harmonic generation (HHG) sources enable high-resolution imaging with excellent material contrast, due to the short wavelength and numerous element-specific absorption edges available in this spectral range. However, accurate characterization of dispersive samples in terms of composition and thickness remains challenging due to the limitations of lens-based optics in this spectral range. Here, we performed spectrally resolved lensless imaging using multiple high harmonics. The diffractive shearing interferometry reconstruction serves as a foundational step for element-sensitive metrology, while ptychographic reconstruction enabled the retrieval of high-precision spectral imaging and quantitative thickness mapping. Our non-destructive method offers a powerful tool to extract both the material composition and layer thicknesses of complex nanostructured samples.