Evaluation of high intensity synchrotron radiation x-ray imaging using Si crystals with lapped surface at 33.3 keV

In x-ray imaging methods, such as synchrotron radiation microangiography, the x-ray intensity has become more important in recent years for real-time dynamic observations to evaluate temporal changes in samples. Many synchrotron radiation facilities use x-rays monochromated by diffraction from perfect Si crystals to improve the spatial resolution of x-ray images and obtain detailed information about a sample. In this paper, monochromatic synchrotron x-ray images were acquired using Si crystals lapped with abrasives to enhance the x-ray intensity using white synchrotron radiation x-rays for observing dynamic changes in samples. The x-ray intensity, spatial resolution, and contrast noise ratio (CNR) in the acquired x-ray images were quantitatively evaluated using a state-of-the-art high-spatial-resolution detector. The x-ray intensity was substantially increased by a factor of ∼8 when a lapped Si crystal was used. When the lapped Si crystal was used, the spatial resolution of x-ray images in the diffraction-plane direction was ∼70% lower than when an etched Si crystal was used at a spatial resolution of 10 lp/mm. By contrast, the CNR in x-ray images, which is important for observing the interior of a sample, increased threefold when a contrast agent containing iodine at a concentration of 38 wt. % was used. It was confirmed that the combination of white synchrotron radiation x-rays and a lapped crystal produces an intense monochromatic x-ray, providing an important evaluation for the use of optics for each research purpose.