X-ray computed tomography scanning schemes and reconstruction capabilities at the BAMline (BESSY II)

The BAMline at the BESSY II synchrotron (Berlin, Germany) is a multi-purpose beamline that is used for computed tomography, among other techniques. For more than 20 years it has been used in various scientific fields to access and analyze internal structural features such as porosity, cracks or delamination. The general trend of tomographic X-ray imaging is moving towards in situ and operando studies to access the above-mentioned features under the most realistic conditions. This article presents the X-ray computed tomography (XCT) capabilities and the software suite, such as live reconstruction available to imaging users. Direct XCT reconstruction plays an important role in the quality control of the performed experiments and is particularly crucial for in situ and operando experiments. The BAMline now offers a sequence-based step-scan XCT that enables preview reconstruction during the scan to gain early insight into the scanned sample even while the scan is in progress. In addition, the sequence-based scheme includes lateral shifts, thereby mitigating ring artifacts and improving image quality. Finally, since XCT scan parameters, such as sample-detector distance and beam energy, are of utmost importance, we devised calculation software allowing control of monochromators to set the desired beam spectrum.