Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2026

X-ray Dose Reduction through Adaptive Exposure in Fluoroscopic Imaging
Published on: September 11, 2011
Revolution in x-ray optics
1Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California, P.O. Box 5508, Livermore, California 94550.
Abstract:
In the past half decade or so there has been a technological revolution in our ability to generate, control, manipulate, focus, and detect x rays. The emergence of x-ray lasers and synchrotron insertion devices has increased the brightness of laboratory x-ray sources 8 to 12 orders of magnitude over what was available in the late 1960s. In addition, the past few years have been witness to significant advances in the development of normal incidence x-ray mirrors and beam splitters, diffraction limited x-ray lenses, x-ray microscopy, x-ray holography, x-ray waveguides, and CCD x-ray detector arrays. Utilizing these new capabilities, workers in the field are taking the first steps toward the development of sophisticated soft x-ray optical systems, including soft x-ray interferometers, high-intensity x-ray lasers, and projection optics for x-ray lithography. Details of these developments are discussed, as is the question, Why is this happening now?
Related Concept Videos
X-ray Imaging
X-ray Crystallography
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Determination of Crystal Structures
X-ray Diffraction of Biological Samples
According to Bragg's law, when X-rays strike the sample positioned on a stage, the rays are scattered by the electron clouds around the sample atoms. The X-ray diffraction or scattering is caused by constructive interference of the X-ray waves that reflect off the internal crystal...
Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy
In optical microscopy, the specimen to be viewed is placed on a glass slide and clipped on the stage...
Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy
In-phase-contrast microscopes, interference between light directly passing through a cell and light refracted by cellular components is used to create high-contrast, high-resolution images without staining. It is the oldest and simplest type of microscope that creates an image by altering the wavelengths of light rays passing through the specimen. Altered wavelength paths are created using an annular stop in the condenser. The annular stop produces a hollow cone of...
