Phase-Contrast X-Ray Imaging

Abstract

  Research activity on phase-contrast imaging in the hard X-ray energy region has been growing recently. Several kinds of methods have been reported using an X-ray interferometer, Fresnels diffraction, and a crystal angular analyzer. The meanings of contrast obtained with those methods are different one another. One can find a merit, however, that as a rule sensitivity achieved by phase-contrast X-ray imaging exceeds that of the conventional X-ray imaging depending on X-ray absorption contrast. Therefore, biological tissues can be observed without the need for staining. Furthermore, high sensitivity is desirable for biological imaging because X-ray dose can be reduced. In this paper, concentrating on the interferometric method that we study, a new three-dimensional imaging technique using X-ray phase information is described.