Laser-driven x-ray and proton micro-source and application to simultaneous single-shot bi-modal radiographic imaging

Tobias Ostermayr ,G Dyer,M Martinez,J Gordon,E Gaul,B M Hegelich,M Donovan ,Franz Siegfried Englbrecht ,J W Gebhard ,P Hilz,M Spinks,Christian Kreuzer ,Ganesh Tiwari ,E Mccary,Daniel Haffa ,Axel Huebl ,Jens Hartmann ,Johannes Wenz ,Katia Parodi ,Jörg Schreiber

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19838-y

Abstract

Radiographic imaging with x-rays and protons is an omnipresent tool in basic research and applications in industry, material science and medical diagnostics. The information contained in both modalities can often be valuable in principle, but difficult to access simultaneously. Laser-driven solid-density plasma-sources deliver both kinds of radiation, but mostly single modalities have been explored for applications. Their potential for bi-modal radiographic imaging has never been fully realized, due to problems in generating appropriate sources and separating image modalities. Here, we report on the generation of proton and x-ray micro-sources in laser-plasma interactions of the focused Texas Petawatt laser with solid-density, micrometer-sized tungsten needles. We apply them for bi-modal radiographic imaging of biological and technological objects in a single laser shot. Thereby, advantages of laser-driven sources could be enriched beyond their small footprint by embracing their additional unique properties, including the spectral bandwidth, small source size and multi-mode emission.

Highlights

Radiographic imaging with x-rays and protons is an omnipresent tool in basic research and applications in industry, material science and medical diagnostics
Laser-plasma sources have been considered and explored for many classical single-source applications, mostly for their promise to provide a more compact source based on higher applicable field strengths, e.g., refs. 18–23
The protons stem from a nm-thin CH contaminant layer present on the tungsten surface; the limited spatial extent translates to a limited spectral bandwidth observed toward the side, as the protons explode away from the positively charged target into vacuum

Summary

Introduction

Radiographic imaging with x-rays and protons is an omnipresent tool in basic research and applications in industry, material science and medical diagnostics. The proton’s initial spectral modulation depth translates directly into achievable contrast (neglecting other factors like detector noise), whereas the spectral width determines the range of object thicknesses that can be imaged These considerations have been a challenge for early ion-radiographic imaging[2] based on conventional accelerators delivering highly monoenergetic (% level) beams. The emission geometry of protons and x-rays from the target enables image recording with both modalities towards the side (i.e., at 90∘ with respect to the laser propagation): high-energy electrons (10 MeV-range) and the transmitted laser pulse propagate mostly along the laser propagation direction and are spatially separated from the imaging beams They do not harm the nearby objects or contribute to the x-ray image, which is, again, detected on an imaging plate with sensitivity to all ionizing radiation. Two effects can further reduce this volume: the curved target surface can lead to a converging plasma movement in the laser interaction, and the plasma expansion into vacuum can reduce the high-density region effectively by losing part of the plasma to lower density regions

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Conclusion