Polycapillary coupled X-ray digital radiation imaging system: Feasibility analysis

To improve the performance and efficiency of an X-ray source in ordinary X-ray digital radiation imaging system (OXDRIS), parallel-polycapillary optics, in which a divergent X-ray beam can be modulated into a quasi-parallel beam, is introduced in the OXDRIS. The properties of the X-ray beam including beam intensity and divergence are then studied in polycapillary-optics-coupled X-ray DR imaging system (POXDRIS). Furthermore, the characteristics of a digital radiation (DR) image including spatial resolution and contrast are discussed using the POXDRIS. The intensity of the X-ray beam has been increased thirtyfold compared to the OXDRIS without the parallel-polycapillary optics. Moreover, a quasi-parallel beam with a divergence of 2.2 mrad is obtained. The results of the preliminary numerical analysis show that the image contrast and anti-noise performance are enhanced. As the energy range and spatial resolution are influenced by the material used and principle of the polycapillary, the approach should be employed carefully.