X-ray imaging with laser-Compton scattering X-ray at AIST

Abstract

An X-ray facility with a compact electron linear accelerator via laser-Compton scattering (LCS X-ray) is recently installed at AIST. The LCS X-ray facility in approximately 8–m square consists of a 40–MeV linac, a femtosecond terawatt laser and an X-ray beamline. The LCS X-ray facility produces quasi-monochromatic X-rays with energy in the range of 12 ∼ 40 keV which are commonly used in many studies currently carried out at synchrotron radiation facilities. The LCS X-ray is suitable for phase-contrast imaging such as in-line method, diffraction-enhanced imaging method, X-ray interferometry method, because of the quasi-monochoromaticity and the small source size. These advantages produce much clearer image of weakly absorbing specimens in the radiography of clinical and industrial application. Here we report on the feasibility study of the in-line phase-contrast imaging of biological samples using the LCS X-ray. Our experimental arrangement is widely used in the in-line method. The weakly absorbing parts of the samples are successfully imaged under the phase-contrast condition.