of the three main approaches to soft x-ray microscopy investigated (contact, scanning and direct imaging), the authors believe that contact microscopy provides the only solution to the problems of user access to working x-ray microscope systems and radiation damage to biological specimens. a small, transportable, discharge pumped, uv pre-ionised krf laser system has been developed for the exclusive use of contact microscopy. by employing an injection seeded unstable confocal resonator, a beam of 2.5 times the diffraction limited divergence and energy approximately 2 j is generated. by focusing this beam onto the surface of a suitable target material with an intensity of approximately 10/sup 12/ w/cm/sup 2/, a plasma is created which emits largely in the water window region of the spectrum with an efficiency of up to 20 percent . these x-rays are used to illuminate a biological specimen which is placed in close contact with a photosensitive resist such as polymethyl methacrylate