Transmission, refraction and dark-field retrieval in hard X-ray grating interferometry

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Materials Science
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Hard X-ray grating interferometry is a powerful technique for material characterization.
• Current methods have limitations on grating positioning, restricting imaging versatility.
• Retrieving transmission, refraction, and dark-field information simultaneously is crucial for comprehensive analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel three-image algorithm for hard X-ray grating interferometry.
• To enable versatile and tunable multimodal X-ray imaging by relaxing constraints on lateral grating position.
• To investigate and model the noise properties of the retrieved images.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical derivation of analytical formulae for the three-image algorithm.
• Proof-of-principle experiments using synchrotron radiation.
• Investigation of noise properties and their dependence on lateral grating position.

Main Results:

• The proposed algorithm was theoretically derived and experimentally validated.
• The algorithm allows for versatile and tunable multimodal X-ray imaging.
• Noise standard deviations were found to strongly depend on lateral grating position, particularly for refraction and dark-field images.

Conclusions:

• The developed algorithm is feasible and enhances multimodal X-ray imaging capabilities.
• Optimizing lateral grating position can lead to noise and dose reduction.
• The findings provide guidelines for optimizing data acquisition in grating interferometry.