Correction of absorption-edge artifacts in polychromatic X-ray tomography in a scanning electron microscope for 3D...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Physics
• Imaging Science

Background:

• X-ray tomography is crucial in materials science.
• Polychromatic X-ray scanners can produce artifacts like dark streaks.
• Beam hardening is a common cause of these artifacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate the cause of dark streaks beyond beam hardening.
• Identify the role of high-Z element absorption edges.
• Develop a method to mitigate these artifacts.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of X-ray absorption phenomena in heterogeneous samples.
• Identification of absorption edge effects in high-Z elements within low-Z matrices.
• Development and application of a novel method to suppress absorption edge artifacts.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated that dark streaks can arise from high-Z element absorption edges, not just beam hardening.
• Showcased a method effective in limiting the absorption edge effect.
• Successfully suppressed dark streaks in a microelectronic sample between interconnections.

Conclusions:

• Absorption edges of high-Z elements are a significant source of artifacts in X-ray tomography.
• The proposed method effectively reduces these artifacts, improving image fidelity.
• This technique enhances the utility of X-ray tomography for analyzing complex materials.