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We have developed a high-resolution diffraction imaging method for determination of the complete three-dimensional rotational local lattice misorientation of crystalline samples. The method, called synchrotron area diffractometry, is based on recording double-crystal diffraction rocking scans in three mutually non-coplanar scattering planes with a two-dimensional area detector. The subsequent multiple-peak analysis of the rocking curve image series for all pixels and their backprojection to the wafer surface provides local misorientation angles (Euler angles) with spatial resolution up to micrometre range over the wafer surface. We applied this technique to determine the distribution of tilt and twist angles of the lattice misorientation of a macroscopic defect localized in a 6 inch semi-insulating GaAs(001) wafer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In x-ray imaging and beam conditioning it is useful to magnify or demagnify the x-ray beam, or an image, approaching (sub)micrometre resolution or the (sub)micrometre illuminated region. Using an asymmetric diffractor it is possible to expand or compress the x-ray beam in one direction. Combining two such diffractors with mutually perpendicular planes of diffraction even two-dimensional beam expansion or compression can be obtained and, for suitable wavelengths, it is even possible to design and cut a single crystal in such a way that it works as a monolithic device expanding or compressing the x-ray beam in two directions. In this paper, a new magnifying monolithic optical device for a two-dimensional magnification of 25 at 10 keV, based on two noncoplanar asymmetrically inclined {311} diffractors, was designed and made from a single silicon crystal. A ray-tracing image has been simulated to check the functionality of the device. The experimental testing of this device was performed at Optics beamline BM5 at ESRF Grenoble. An undistorted image magnification of about 15 was achieved at a photon beam energy of 9.6 keV. When the photon energy was increased, a higher magnification and increased distortion were observed (horizontal magnification of 39, vertical magnification of 20) at an energy of 10.045 keV. The advantages and disadvantages of the device, as well as further steps to improve it are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The x-ray dark-field contrast accessible via grating interferometry is sensitive to features at length scales well below what is resolvable by a detector system. It is commonly explained as arising from small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), and can be implemented both at synchrotron beamlines and with low-brilliance sources such as x-ray tubes. Here, we demonstrate that for tube based setups the underlying process of image formation can be fundamentally different. For focal spots or detector pixels that comprise multiple grating periods, we show that dark-field images contain a strong artificial and system-specific component not arising from SAXS. Based on experiments carried out with a nanofocus x-ray tube and the example of an excised rat lung, we demonstrate that the dark-field contrast observed for porous media transforms into a differential phase contrast for large geometric magnifications. Using a photon counting detector with an adjustable point spread function, we confirm that a dark-field image can indeed be formed by an intra-pixel differential phase contrast that cannot be resolved as such due to a dephasing between the periodicities of the absorption grating and the Talbot carpet. Our findings are further corroborated by a link between the strength of this pseudo-dark-field contrast and our x-ray tube's focal spot size in a three-grating setup. These results must not be ignored when measurements are intended to be reproducible across systems.

X-ray grating interferometry is one among various methods that allow extracting the so-called phase and visibility contrasts in addition to the well-known transmission images. Crucial to achieving a high image quality are the absorption gratings employed. Here, we present an in-depth analysis of how the grating type and lamella heights influence the final images. Benchmarking gratings of two different designs, we show that a frequently used proxy for image quality, a grating's so-called visibility, is insufficient to predict contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs). Presenting scans from an excised rat lung, we demonstrate that the CNRs obtained for transmission and visibility images anti-correlate. This is explained by the stronger attenuation implied by gratings that are engineered to provide high visibilities by means of an increased lamella height. We show that even the visibility contrast can suffer from this effect when the associated reduced photon flux on the detector is not outweighed by a corresponding gain in visibility. Resulting in an inevitable trade-off between the quality of the two contrasts, the question of how an optimal grating should be designed can hence only be answered in terms of Pareto optimality.

Spectroscopic x-ray imaging based on pixellated semiconductor detectors can be sensitive to charge sharing and K-fluorescence, depending on the sensor material used, its thickness and the pixel pitch employed. As a consequence, spectroscopic resolution is partially lost. In this paper, we study a new detector ASIC, the Medipix3RX, that offers a novel feature called charge summing, which is established by making adjacent pixels communicate with each other. Consequently, single photon interactions resulting in multiple hits are almost completely avoided. We investigate this charge summing mode with respect to those of its imaging properties that are of interest in medical physics and benchmark them against the case without charge summing. In particular, we review its influence on spectroscopic resolution and find that the low energy bias normally present when recording energy spectra is dramatically reduced. Furthermore, we show that charge summing provides a modulation transfer function which is almost independent of the energy threshold setting, which is in contrast to approaches common so far. We demonstrate that this property is directly linked to the detective quantum efficiency, which is found to increase by a factor of three or more when the energy threshold approaches the photon energy and when using charge summing. As a consequence, the contrast-to-noise ratio is found to double at elevated threshold levels and the dynamic range increases for a given counter depth. All these effects are shown to lead to an improved ability to perform material discrimination in spectroscopic CT, using iodine and gadolinium contrast agents. Hence, when compared to conventional photon counting detectors, these benefits carry the potential of substantially reducing the imaging dose a patient is exposed to during diagnostic CT examinations.