High sensitivity X-ray phase contrast imaging by laboratory grating-based interferometry at high Talbot order geometry

X-ray phase contrast imaging is a powerful analysis technique for materials science and biomedicine. Here, we report on laboratory grating-based X-ray interferometry employing a microfocus X-ray source and a high Talbot order (35th) asymmetric geometry to achieve high angular sensitivity and high spatial resolution X-ray phase contrast imaging in a compact system (total length <1 m). The detection of very small refractive angles (similar to 50 nrad) at an interferometer design energy of 19 keV was enabled by combining small period X-ray gratings (1.0, 1.5 and 3.0 mu m) and a single-photon counting X-ray detector (75 mu m pixel size). The performance of the X-ray interferometer was fully characterized in terms of angular sensitivity and spatial resolution. Finally, the potential of laboratory X-ray phase contrast for biomedical imaging is demonstrated by obtaining high resolution X-ray phase tomographies of a mouse embryo embedded in solid paraffin and a formalin-fixed full-thickness sample of human left ventricle in water with a spatial resolution of 21.5 mu m. (C) 2021 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

Laboratory grating-based X-ray interferometry with high angular sensitivity and spatial resolution in a compact system has been achieved through the use of small period X-ray gratings and a single-photon counting X-ray detector. This technique has potential applications in materials science and biomedical research, allowing for high-resolution X-ray phase tomographies of biological samples.