Accurate measurement of effective atomic number and electron density with X-ray attenuation coefficient spectrum

Abstract

Energy spectra of X-ray attenuation coefficients, μ(E)s, are measured using a system comprising a laboratory X-ray source and a photon-counting-type detector with an accuracy of 3% or less. We propose a method to derive the electron density (ρe) and effective atomic number (Zeff) of an object from measured μ(E) values. The method is based on a simple approximation in which an atomic cross-section of attenuation is expressed by a linear equation of Z4 and experimental calibration using standard materials. The μ(E) values of aqueous ethanol and acetic acid aqueous solutions are measured to get the ρes and Zeffs. The proposed method yielded a ρe value with an accuracy of 1.4% despite the use of standard materials, whereas it yielded a Zeff value with an accuracy of 1.1% for standard materials whose values of Z are similar to that of the sample.