Cross-calibration of Fuji TR image plate and RAR 2492 x-ray film to determine the response of a DITABIS Super Micron image plate scanner.

Abstract

Fuji TR image plate is frequently used as a replacement detector medium for x-ray imaging and spectroscopy diagnostics at NIF, Omega, and Z facilities. However, the familiar Fuji BAS line of image plate scanners is no longer supported by the industry, and so a replacement scanning system is needed. While the General Electric Typhoon line of scanners could replace the Fuji systems, the shift away from photo stimulated luminescence units to 16-bit grayscale Tag Image File Format (TIFF) leaves a discontinuity when comparing data collected from both systems. For the purposes of quantitative spectroscopy, a known unit of intensity applied to the grayscale values of the TIFF is needed. The DITABIS Super Micron image plate scanning system was tested and shown to potentially rival the resolution and dynamic range of Kodak RAR 2492 x-ray film. However, the absolute sensitivity of the scanner is unknown. In this work, a methodology to cross calibrate Fuji TR image plate and the absolutely calibrated Kodak RAR 2492 x-ray film is presented. Details of the experimental configurations used are included. An energy dependent scale factor to convert Fuji TR IP scanned on a DITABIS Super Micron scanner from 16-bit grayscale TIFF to intensity units (i.e., photons per square micron) is discussed.