The X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) has remarkably advanced X-ray imaging technology and enabled important scientific achievements. The XFEL’s extremely high power, short pulse width, low emittance, and high coherence make possible such diverse imaging techniques as absorption/emission spectroscopy, diffraction imaging, and scattering imaging. Here, we demonstrate a novel XFEL-based imaging modality that uses the X-ray induced acoustic (XA) effect, which we call X-ray free-electron laser induced acoustic microscopy (XFELAM). Initially, we verified the XA effect by detecting XA signals from various materials, then we validated the experimental results with simulation outcomes. Next, in resolution experiments, we successfully imaged a patterned tungsten target with drilled various-sized circles at a spatial resolution of 7.8 ± 5.1 µm, which is the first micron-scale resolution achieved by XA imaging. Our results suggest that the novel XFELAM can expand the usability of XFEL in various areas of fundamental scientific research.

X射线自由电子激光器（XFEL）拥有非常先进的X射线成像技术，取得了重要的科学成果。XFEL 极高的功率、短脉冲宽度、低发射率和高相干性使得吸收/发射光谱、衍射成像和散射成像等多种成像技术成为可能。在这里，我们展示了一种基于 XFEL 的新型成像模式，该模式利用 X 射线诱导声学 (XA) 效应，我们将其称为 X 射线自由电子激光诱导声学显微镜 (XFELAM)。最初，我们通过检测各种材料的XA信号来验证XA效应，然后用模拟结果验证实验结果。接下来，在分辨率实验中，我们成功地对钻有各种尺寸圆圈的图案化钨靶进行了成像，空间分辨率为7.8 ± 5.1 µm，这是XA成像首次实现微米级分辨率。我们的结果表明，新型 XFELAM 可以扩展 XFEL 在基础科学研究各个领域的可用性。