Single-shot X-ray imaging of two-dimensional strain fields in colloidal crystals.

We used a soft X-ray free-electron laser and the Bragg coherent diffraction imaging method to characterize the defect structure of colloidal crystals. The single-shot X-ray pulse allowed us to reach four powder rings and measured all six reflections of the hexagonal lattice. We reproduced the static shape of the 2D crystal and mapped out the 2D strain tensors inside the crystal. The observed defect structures agreed with electron microscope images of similar colloidal samples.