This volume is based on papers presented at the International Symposium on X-Ray Microscopy held at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton NY, August 31-September 4, 1987. Previous recent symposia on the sub ject were held in New York in 1979, Gottingen in 1983 and Taipei in 1986. Developments in x-ray microscopy continue at a rapid pace, with im portant advances in all major areas: x-ray sources, optics and components, and microscopes and imaging systems. Taken as a whole, the work pre sented here emphasizes three major directions: (a) improvements in the capability and image-quality of x-ray microscopy, expressed principally in systems attached to large, high-brightness x-ray sources; (b) greater access to x-ray microscopy, expressed chiefly in systems employing small, often pulsed, x-ray sources; and (c) increased rate of exploration of applications of x-ray microscopy. The number of papers presented at the symposium has roughly dou bled compared with that of its predecessors. While we are delighted at this growth as a manifestation of vitality and rapid growth of the field, we did have to ask the authors to limit the length of their papers and to submit them in camera-ready form. We thank the authors for their con tributions and for their efforts in adhering to the guidelines on manuscript preparation.

Inhalt
I X-Ray Sources.- Experience with Synchrotron Radiation Sources.- The NSLS Mini-Undulator.- Partial Coherence and Spectral Brightness at X-Ray Wavelengths.- A Plasma Focus as Radiation Source for a Laboratory X-Ray Microscope.- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Soft-X-Ray Laser Program.- X-Ray Laser Sources for Microscopy.- Laser Plasma Soft X-Ray Source: A Dedicated Small Source at the Central Laser Facility.- Soft X-Ray Laser Microscopy.- Laser Plasma Soft X-Ray Sources: Overcoming the Debris Problem by Means of Relay Optics.- Status of the Taiwan Light Source.- The Potential of Laser Plasma Sources in Scanning X-Ray Microscopy.- Future Plans for X-Ray Microscopy at the SRS.- II X-Ray Optics and Components.- Theoretical Investigations of Imaging Properties of Zone Plates Using Diffraction Theory.- Microzone Plate Fabrication by 100keV Electron Beam Lithography.- Zone Plates for Scanning X-Ray Microscopy: Contamination Writing and Efficiency Enhancement.- Phase Zone Plates for the Göttingen X-Ray Microscopes.- Axisymmetric Grazing Incidence Optics for an X-Ray Microscope and Microprobe.- Bragg-Fresnel Optics: Principles and Prospects of Applications.- High Resolution Image Storage in Polymers.- Application of Charge Coupled Detectors in X-Ray Microscopy.- Advances in X-Ray Optics '87.- Zone Plates for the Nanometer Wavelength Range.- Sputtered-Sliced Linear Zone Plates for 8keV X-Rays.- Measurement of Resolution in Zone Plate X-Ray Microscopy.- Using Radiachromic Films for Soft X-Ray Dosimetry.- A Detector System for High Photon Rates for a Scanning X-Ray Microscope.- Multislice Calculations of Dynamic Soft X-Ray Scattering.- Fabrication and Focal Test of a Free-Standing Zone Plate in the VUV Region.- Scattering Measurements of Soft X-Ray Mirrors.-Scattering, Absorption, and a Detailed Look at the Field Near an Absorbing Particle.- X-Ray Zone Plate with Tantalum Film for an X-Ray Microscope.- Experimental Demonstration of Producing High Resolution Zone Plates by Spatial-Frequency Multiplication.- Overview of Activity in X-Ray Microscopy in Japan.- III X-Ray Microscopes and Imaging Systems.- The Stony Brook/NSLS Scanning Microscope.- Early Experience with the King's College Daresbury X-Ray Microscope.- The Göttingen Scanning X-Ray Microscope.- Status of a Laboratory X-Ray Microscope.- First Images with the Soft X-Ray Image Converting Microscope at LURE.- Phase Contrast X-Ray Microscopy Experiments at the BESSY Storage Ring.- X-Ray Fluorescence Imaging with Synchrotron Radiation.- Synchrotron X-Ray Microtomography.- X-Ray Microscopy by Holography at LURE.- Progress in High-Resolution X-Ray Holographic Microscopy.- Fundamental Limits in X-Ray Holography.- Experimental Observation of Diffraction Patterns from Micro-Specimens.- An X-Ray Microprobe Beam Line for Trace Element Analysis.- Possibilities for a Scanning Photoemission Microscope at the NSLS.- Design for a Fourier-Transform Holographic Microscope.- Photo-resist Studies in X-Ray Contact Microscopy.- Imaging X-Ray Microscopy with Extended Depth of Focus by Use of a Digital Image Processing System.- A Zone Plate Soft X-Ray Microscope Using Undulator Radiation at the Photon Factory.- Scanning X-Ray Microradiography and Related Analysis in a SEM.- Image Capture in the Projection Shadow X-Ray Microscope.- The Stanford Tabletop Scanning X-Ray Microscope.- Examination of Soft X-Ray Contact Images in Photoresist by the Low-Loss Electron Method in the Scanning Electron Microscope.- Soft X-Ray Contact Microscopy at Hefei.- A Projection X-Ray MicroscopeConverted from a Scanning Electron Microscope, and Its Applications.- IV Applications of X-Ray Microscopy.- Applications of Soft X-Ray Imaging to Materials Science.- The Use of Soft X-Rays to Probe Mechanisms of Radiobiological Damage.- X-Ray Contact Microscopy, Using Synchrotron and Laser Sources, of Ultrasectioned, Heavy Metal Contaminated Earthworm Tissue.- Biological Applications of Microtomography.- X-Ray Microscopy Its Application to Biological Sciences.- Investigations of Biological Specimens with the X-Ray Microscope at BESSY.- The Biology of the the Cell and the High Resolution X-Ray Microscope.- X-Ray Microscopy: A Comparative Assessment with Other Microscopies.- X-Ray Microscopy in the Study of Biological Structure: A Prospective View.- X-Ray Microscopy Studies on the Pharmaco-Dynamics of Therapeutic Gallium in Rat Bones.- Location and Mapping of Gold Sites in Thin Sections of Unoxidized Carlin-Type Ores Using Complementary Micro-analytical Techniques.- Exploration of the Demyelinated Axon of the Medullated Shrimp Giant Nerve by Soft X-Ray Scanning Microscopy.- Comparison of Soft X-Ray Contact Microscopy with Other Microscopical Techniques for the Study of the Fine Structure of Plant Cells.- Biological Applications at LBL's Soft X-Ray Contact Microscopy Station.- X-Ray Microscopy of Single Neurons in the Central Nervous System.- X-Ray Introscopy of Mediastinal Lymph Nodes Using Synchrotron Radiation.- Absorption Edge Imaging of Sporocide-Treated and Non-treated Bacterial Spores.- The Role of High-Energy Synchrotron Radiation in Biomedical Trace Element Research.- X-Ray Contact Microscopy of Human Chromosomes and Human Fibroblasts.- Soft X-Ray Contact Microscopy of Botanical Material Using Laser-Produced Plasmas or Synchrotron Radiation.- Advances inGeochemistry and Cosmochemistry: Trace Element Microdistributions with the Synchrotron X-Ray Fluorescence Microprobe.- V Summary of Session on Future X-Ray Microscopy Facilities.- Report on Special Session on Future X-Ray Microscopy Facilities.- Index of Contributors.