SUBMICROMETER RESOLUTION PHASE-CONTRAST RADIOGRAPHY WITH THE BEAM FROM AN X-RAY WAVE-GUIDE

Experimental data with unprecedented submicrometre resolution obtained in a phase-contrast radiography experiment in a magnifying configurat ion are presented. The term 'phase contrast' here indicates that the p hase retardation of coherent light in matter was utilized as the contr ast mechanism. The coherent and divergent beam exiting an X-ray wavegu ide was used in a lensless cofiguration to magnify spatial variations in optical path length up to several hundred times. The defocused imag e of a nylon fibre was measured with a resolution of 0.14 mu m at the object. Sufficient contrast was found for exposure times of 0.1 s, i.e . in the regime for real-time studies.