X-ray interferometer for phase contrast imaging

US8041004B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Paul Scherrer Institut · CH

Inventors

• Christian David · Lauchringen, DE
• Franz Pfeiffer · Unterföhring, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 28, 2007
• Grant date: Oct 18, 2011
• Expiry date: Jun 24, 2028

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G21K2207/005
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An interferometer for x-rays, in particular hard x-rays, for obtaining quantitative x-ray images from an object, includes: a) an x-ray source, preferably a standard polychromatic x-ray source, b) a diffractive beam splitter grating other than a Bragg crystal, preferably in transmission geometry, c) a position-sensitive detector with spatially modulated detection sensitivity having a number of individual pixels; d) means for recording the images of the detector in a phase-stepping approach; and e) means for evaluating the intensities for each pixel in a series of images in order to identify the characteristic of the object for each individual pixel as an absorption dominated pixel and/or an differential phase contrast dominated pixel and/or an x-ray scattering dominated pixel.