Evaluating the quality of images produced by soft X-ray units

For broad-beam soft X-ray sources, assessment of the quality of image produ ced by such units is made complex by the low penetration capabilities of th e radiation. In the present study we have tested the utility of several typ es of test tool, some of which have been fabricated by us, as part of an ef fort to evaluate several key image defining parameters. These include the f ilm characteristic, focal-spot size, image resolution and detail detectabil ity. The two sources of X-rays used in present studies were the University of Malaya flash X-ray device (UMFX1) and a more conventional soft X-ray tub e (Softex, Tokyo), the latter operating at peak accelerating potentials of 20 kV(p). We have established, for thin objects, that both systems produce images of comparable quality and, in particular, objects can be resolved do wn to better than 45 mu m. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.