X-RAY-IMAGING WITH SUBMICROMETER RESOLUTION EMPLOYING TRANSPARENT LUMINESCENT SCREENS

Microimaging techniques with synchrotron radiation demand fast, on-lin e x-ray detectors with a spatial resolution in the micrometer or submi crometer range. For this task an x-ray detector based on a transparent , i.e., nonscattering, luminescent screen has been developed. Its perf ormance is described experimentally and theoretically. The detector co nsists of an Y3Al5O12:Ce screen, microscope optics, and a low-noise CC D camera, operated at x-ray energies between 10 and 50 keV. Good image quality is achieved if the depth of focus of the optical system is ma tched to the x-ray absorption length or thickness of the scintillator. A spatial resolution of 0.8 mu m fwhm (1000 line pairs/mm with 10% co ntrast) was measured by recording the interferogram of a boron fiber. First applications in phase contrast imaging and microtomography are s hown. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America.