X-ray tomography of a microhabitat of bacteria and other soil colloids with sub-100 nm resolution

Visualization of the spatial arrangement of bacteria and other colloids permits to describe relevant soil parameters like porosity or nutrient storage capacity. Major advantages of X-ray microscopy for these investigations are the much higher spatial resolution compared to visible light microscopy and its ability to study colloidal structures directly in aqueous media. To obtain information about the three-dimensional structure of the microhabitats formed by bacteria and other soil colloids, tomography based on X-ray microscopy images with about 45 nm resolution was performed. Tomographic reconstructions presented in this paper clearly reveal the spatial arrangement of bacteria and other soil colloids which cannot be obtained from two-dimensional projections. The results show that X-ray nanotomography is a very powerful tool for examining the three-dimensional structure of flocs of colloidal particles.     

Optimization of the in-line X-ray phase-contrast imaging setup considering edge-contrast enhancement and spatial resolution

Employing the approximation theory based on refraction and the definition of the total point-spread-function of the imaging system, the variation in the edge contrast of simple model samples is discussed with different source-to-sample and sample-to-detector distances, which actually means different spatial resolutions of the imaging system. The experiments were carried out with the Beamline 4W1A imaging setup at the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility for simple model and insect samples. The results show that to obtain clear phase-contrast images of biologic tissues for the X-ray in-line imaging setup, with determined parameters such as the size of the X-ray source, the pixel size of the detector and the fixed source-to-sample distance, there is a range of optimized sample-to-detector distances. The analysis method discussed in this article can be helpful in optimizing the setup of X-ray in-line phase-contrast imaging.     

硬X光光电成像系统面密度分辨能力

针对基于将X光转换成可见光接收的硬X光光电成像系统,研究了系统面密度分辨能力的理论模型,获得了系统面密度分辨能力的上下限的表达式;建立了对硬X光成像系统对面密度分辨能力的测量方法。利用自制面密度分辨率板,实验测量了由射频X光机、转换屏、光纤锥耦合和CCD相机组成的硬X光光电成像系统在不同照射量下的面密度极限分辨能力的上下限值。实验结果与理论分析模型分析趋势一致,在未饱和条件下面密度分辨力上限随着照射量的增加而不断增加,而面密度分辨力下限随着照射量的增加将减小。     

X光能点、放大倍率及针孔尺寸对空间分辨的影响

X光针孔成像是惯性约束聚变（ICF）研究中重要的诊断方法,对其点扩散函数的计算可用于图像重建和系统空间分辨的判断。对菲涅耳衍射公式进行了化简,分析了X光能点、针孔尺寸及放大倍率对针孔点扩散函数的影响。实验在保证成像能获得足够高信噪比的条件下,通过模拟获得在最佳空间分辨时所要的针孔大小、放大倍率和X光能点等参数。在流体力学不稳定性的静态样品定标实验中,通过模拟获得了针孔的调制传递函数（MTF）,结合实验测量的结果反推获得分幅相机本身的MTF值。同时采用测刀边函数的方法获得了分幅相机本身的刀边函数,进而得到相机在各空间频率下的MTF值。两种方法得到的分幅相机MTF值一致,验证了通过菲涅耳衍射模拟Ｘ光针孔成像的可行性。     

Simulation study of phase retrieval for hard X-ray in-line phase contrast imaging

X-ray phase contrast imaging (XPCI) is a novel method that exploits the phase shift for the incident X-ray to form an image. For light elements such as carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, the phase-shift term can be up to 1000 times greater than the absorption term in the hard X-ray energy region. So XPCI has attracted much attention in recent years. Various methods for XPCI have been proposed and demonstrated on synchrotron devices and other X-ray sources[1―13], particularly the in-line metho…     

软X射线激光背光阴影成像技术的空间分辨研究

软X射线激光阴影成像技术是一种诊断高温稠密等离子体临界面附近阴影轮廓的诊断技术,具有测量视场大、空间分辨能力高的特点,具有重要的应用前景.对该技术的空间分辨具体能够达到什么程度则没有进行过系统研究.本文分别从光路几何、衍射极限、成像像差三个方面进行了仔细分析,结果表明目前采用该技术的诊断系统能够达到约2μm的空间分辨.主要受限是光路几何因素,通过增加放大倍数、选择单元尺寸更小的接收元器件等方式,有希望达到优于1μm的空间分辨.     

Beam hardening correction for a cone-beam CT system and its effect on spatial resolution

In this paper, we present a beam hardening correction (BHC) method in three-dimension space for a cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) system in a mono-material case and investigate its effect on the spatial resolution. Due to the polychromatic character of the X-ray spectrum used, cupping and streak artifacts called beam hardening artifacts arise in the reconstructed CT images, causing reduced image quality. In addition, enhanced edges are introduced in the reconstructed CT images because of the beam hardening effect. The spatial resolution of the CBCT system is calculated from the edge response function (ERF) on different planes in space. Thus, in the CT images with beam hardening artifacts, enhanced ERFs will be extracted to calculate the modulation transfer function (MTF), obtaining a better spatial resolution that deviates from the real value. Reasonable spatial resolution can be obtained after reducing the artifacts. The 10% MTF value and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the point spread function with and without BHC are presented.     

X射线用Kirkpatrick-Baez显微镜成像质量的研究

 对惯性约束聚变的一种重要诊断方法-Kirkpatrick-Baez型结构显微镜成像方法进行了研究。计算了Kirkpatrick-Baez型结构显微镜的主要像差,并分析得出：造成轴上点像差的主要因素是球差,占像差的94%。基于光线追迹方法模拟出这种结构的成像过程,比较了不同反射镜长随视场变化对物面分辨率的影响,发现为了保证物面的空间分辨率能达到ICF研究要求视场应尽量控制在200 μm以内。最终得出能量在8 keV、视场为200 μm,分辨率小于10 μm的Kirkpatrick-Baez型结构的模型。提出在装调过程中重要公差计算方法,得到数值孔径为0.003 7时,角度装调公差应在-0.087°~0.067°范围内。     

Kinoform单透镜的硬X射线聚焦性能

Kinoform单透镜可以高效聚焦硬X射线至纳米量级, 在X射线纳米显微学和纳米光谱学领域有着重要的应用前景. 基于衍射光学和傅里叶光学理论, 给出了X射线经由Kinoform单透镜聚焦的物理模型, 基于数值模拟, 研究了不同材料、光子能量、台阶数量和顶点曲率半径对Kinoform单透镜聚焦性能的影响. 结果表明, 孔径为1 mm的Kinoform单透镜对30 keV的X射线聚焦, 可以得到14 nm焦斑、62 μm焦深, 且可实现4个量级的光强增益和大于30%的光强透过率.     

硬X射线透射晶体谱仪的设计性能参数

激光等离子体相互作用高分辨硬X射线光谱的测量通常采用柱面透射弯晶谱仪实现。利用几何光学模型对柱面透射弯晶谱仪的关键技术参数进行了理论计算和数值模拟,给出了谱仪弯晶曲率半径、光源到晶体的距离、光源尺寸和探测器的位置等因素对谱仪测谱范围和分辨能力的影响情况,分析了光谱分辨水平随能点的变化。分析结果表明：晶体曲率半径对测谱范围和谱分辨能力影响大,在光源尺寸较小时,随着探测器与罗兰圆距离的增加,谱线之间距离增加的速度大于光谱线宽增加的速度,使得分辨能力增加。     

Research of spatial resolution in external electro-optic probing

A new method, based on zero point of longitudinal electric field, was used to determine the spatial resolution of external electro-optic (EO) probing equipment. Considering the diffraction of Gauss beam, the result of external EO probing was simulated which was in accordance with the experiment. A spatial resolution <1 μm was demonstrated initially in our equipment using 650 nm laser diode as probe beam and semi-insulating GaP as probe tip.     

有限方位扫描的光声断层成像分辨率研究

通过有限元仿真实验,定量地研究了有限方位扫描对反投影光声断层成像分辨率的影响,并且给出了有限方位扫描角与分辨率之间关系的经验公式.本文的研究结果对光声成像扫描轨迹设计、成像效果评估等具有参考价值. 关键词： 光声成像 有限方位扫描 分辨率 断层成像     

Optical coherence tomography based imaging of dental demineralisation and cavity restoration in 840 nm and 1310 nm wavelength regions

In this paper, a study of in-house built optical coherence tomography (OCT) system with a wavelength of 840 nm for imaging of dental caries, progress in demineralisation and cavity restoration is presented. The caries when imaged with the 840 nm OCT system showed minute demineralisation in the order of 5 μm. The OCT system was also proposed to study the growth of lesion and this was demonstrated by artificially inducing caries with a demineralisation solution of pH 4.8. The progress of carious lesion to a depth of about 50–60 μm after 60 hours of demineralisation was clearly observed with the 840 nm OCT system. The tooth samples were subjected to accelerated demineralisation condition at pH of approximately 2.3 to study the adverse effects and the onset of cavity formation was clearly observed. The restoration of cavity was also studied by employing different restorative materials (filled and unfilled). In the case of restoration without filler material (unfilled), the restoration boundaries were clearly observed. Overall, results were comparable with that of the widely used 1310 nm OCT system. In the case of restoration with filler material, the 1310 nm OCT imaging displayed better imaging capacity due to lower scattering than 840 nm imaging.     

Electro-optic measurement system with high spatial resolution utilizing poled polymer film as external probe tip

A new external electro-optic probing technology has been first demonstrated using a poling electro-optic (EO) polymer film, spin-coated on 20 nm thick grounding perspective aluminum layer which sputtered on a piece of ITO glass as a probe tip, the aluminum layer which has 30% reflectance ratio is also a reference coating. A interdigital electrode was measured, and the spatial resolution of less than was obtained. Voltage sensitivity was approximately . The probing beam reflected from the metal line is phase-modulated by the signal electric field in the EO polymer film, and then converted to amplitude modulation by interference with the reference beam reflected from the 30% reflective coating. The reference electrode makes sure that the most signal voltage drops down in the EO polymer film.     

The measurement of the electrical field distribution by external electro-optic measuring system with submicrometre spatial resolution

A GaAs solid immersion lens has been applied to the external electric-optic measuring system. The spatial resolution of the system is improved to 0.7 μm because of the increased effective number aperture. We measured the electrical field distribution of ceramic microstrip lines transversely. The variation of electrical field with a submicrometre interval has been revealed experimentally and the results are in good agreement with the theoretical analysis.     

Measurement of spatial resolution of the micro-CT system

The performance test is an important and necessary work for the micro-CT (computed tomography) system. The focal spot size of the micro focus X-ray tube is measured. The method of measuring the spatial resolution of micro-CT is introduced. A line-pair resolution of 28.2 lp/mm at the 10% modulation transfer function (MTF) level can be achieved with 14.7 μm spot size, 12.3 μm voxel size and a 25 mm field of view. In addition, a tungsten wire with the diameter of 5 μm can be detected by the system.     

Measurement of spatial resolution of the micro-CT system

The performance test is an important and necessary work for the micro-CT （computed tomography） system. The focal spot size of the micro focus X-ray tube is measured. The method of measuring the spatial resolution of micro-CT is introduced. A line-pair resolution of 28.2 lp/mm at the 10% modulation transfer function （MTF） level can be achieved with 14.7 μm spot size, 12.3 μm voxel size and a 25 mm field of view. In addition, a tungsten wire with the diameter of 5 μm can be detected by the system.     

X射线成像系统点扩展函数理论模型及其实验验证

X射线成像系统点扩展函数是影响X射线成像空间分辨率和密度分辨率的决定性因素,在系统分析X射线成像物理过程基础上,建立了X射线成像系统点扩展函数的一种数学解析模型,推导出了射束有效宽度计算公式,最后通过实验验证了模型的正确性。该模型为X射线成像系统空间分辨率和密度分辨率的初步设计和评定提供了理论依据,可作为X射线图像恢复算法中模糊函数的先验信息。     

Fast synchrotron X-ray tomography study of the packing structures of rods with different aspect ratios

We present a fast synchrotron X-ray tomography study of the packing structures of rods with different aspect ratios. Utilizing the high flux of the X-rays generated from the third-generation synchrotron source, we can complete a high- resolution tomography scan within a short period of time, after which the three-dimensional （3D） packing structure can be obtained for the subsequent structural analysis. The image phase-retrieval procedure has been implemented to enhance the image contrast. We systematically investigated the effects of particle shape and aspect ratio on the structural properties including packing density and contact number. It turns out that large aspect ratio rod packings will have wider distributions of free volume fraction and larger mean contact numbers.     

硬X射线微分相衬成像的噪声特性分析

量子噪声引起光强随机波动是影响X射线相衬图像质量的一个重要因素.提出了一种针对硬X射线微分相衬成像噪声特性的分析方法,通过数值模拟获得了量子噪声对成像结果的作用规律.模拟结果表明,折射像和散射像的噪声均方差与叠栅条纹对比度成反比关系,叠栅条纹对比度越大,统计所得的均方差值越小.在保证X射线探测效率的前提下,提高叠栅条纹对比度将有利于获得高质量的相衬图像,并为有效减少X射线曝光剂量提供条件.