The new microscope, developed by physicists at University of California, San Diego, uses a powerful computer programme to convert patterns from X-rays bouncing off materials into images of objects as small as a one nanometer across, on the scale of a few atoms.
Unlike Superman`s X-ray vision, which allows him to look through walls to see the bad guys beyond, the new technology could be used to look at different elements inside a material, or to image viruses, cells and tissue in great detail, study researcher Oleg Shpyrko said.
But one of the most important applications, Shpyrko said, is in nano-sized engineering.
"We can make things at nanoscale, but we can`t see them very well. So our paper pushes the characterisation forward," he was quoted as saying.
Astronomers use similar programmes to remove distortions from their images and even to sharpen the pictures sent back by the Hubble telescope, but the nanovision technique is new.
The computer programme essentially unscrambles a complex pattern from X-rays bouncing off an object to form an image, the researchers reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
To test the programme, the researchers created a layered film made of the elements iron and gadolinium. Combined, the two magnetic materials crinkle into a series of magnetic domains that look like a maze or the ridges of fingerprints.
By seeing and understanding how the materials self-assemble, you could create nanoproduction processes that are much more efficient than the current method of building materials atom-by-atom, Shpyrko said.
Understanding magnetic materials at the nanoscale could lead to better magnetic data storage, Shpyrko said.
The researchers, who conducted the study with funding from the US Department of Energy, are also interested in solving other tiny mysteries with big implications.
For example, Shpyrko said, batteries degrade over time, because the interface between the battery`s electrodes and electrolyte degenerates.
No one understands exactly how this happens or how to fix it, he said, and it`s tough to see inside the interface to diagnose the problem. X-ray nanovision could change that.
"With this microscope, we can actually look at this very difficult interface," Shpyrko said.