Hierarchical radioscopy using polychromatic and partially coherent hard synchrotron radiation

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Materials Science
• Engineering

Background:

• High-speed synchrotron X-ray radiography faces a trade-off between field of view and resolution.
• Current methods limit imaging to either a small area at high resolution or the entire sample at lower resolution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel X-ray imaging technique overcoming field-of-view limitations.
• To enable simultaneous hierarchical imaging with high and moderate resolutions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a semi-transparent X-ray detector positioned close to the sample.
• Employed a second detector downstream to capture transmitted X-rays.
• Demonstrated proof-of-concept with evolving liquid-metal foam.

Main Results:

• Achieved simultaneous imaging of a sample's full extent and a high-resolution subregion.
• Demonstrated hierarchical imaging within a single exposure.
• Obtained image sequences at 1000 images/s (1.2 μm pixel size) and 15,000 images/s (18.1 μm pixel size).

Conclusions:

• The dual-detector approach effectively overcomes field-of-view limitations in high-speed X-ray imaging.
• This technique allows for simultaneous acquisition of multi-resolution data.
• Enables detailed dynamic studies of processes previously unobservable at this scale.