Abstract
Edge illumination is an X-ray phase-contrast imaging technique that can be efficiently applied to both synchrotron radiation and laboratory sources. Its implementation with these two types of setups is here described, and a recently developed method to perform quantitative retrieval of the object attenuation and refraction properties is presented. We report results obtained at two synchrotron radiation facilities and with one of the setups installed in our laboratories at University College London, which show that very high angular sensitivities can be obtained with this technique. The effect of different experimental parameters on the achievable sensitivity is also analyzed. The obtained results will be a useful guide for the design and optimization of future experimental layouts.
Highlights
X-ray phase-contrast imaging (XPCi) has been an important branch of X-ray research since the mid nineties [1,2,3,4]
Environmental vibrations up to a few μm were measured in our laboratory, these did not affect the quality and the quantitative accuracy of the obtained images. This increased stability is a direct consequence of the large pitch of our masks: it was first observed in the original embodiments of the laboratory prototypes [25], and was recently discussed in more detail [10]
The edge illumination (EI) method has been successfully applied to both synchrotron and laboratory setups
Summary
X-ray phase-contrast imaging (XPCi) has been an important branch of X-ray research since the mid nineties [1,2,3,4]. Analyzer-based imaging (ABI) is a highly sensitive technique that has been successfully applied to the imaging of several types of biomedical objects [12,13] It requires strict monochromatization/collimation of the beam, leading to inefficient use of the X-ray flux, and a high mechanical stability, since the crystal orientation has to be controlled with sub-μrad precision. The collimation requires only the use of a one-dimensional (1D) slit, while the displacement of the beam caused by refraction can be sensed by using an absorbing edge set in front of the detector, at a distance on the order of tens of centimetres or a few metres from the sample (figure 1a) The use of such a simple setup, as opposed to the diffraction from a perfect crystal, eliminates the need of a monochromatic beam and of a stringent control of the mechanical stability. We report on some of the main results obtained in our recent experiments carried out at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF, France) and Diamond Light Source (Didcot, UK), and with our laboratory-based setup
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call