Quantitative approach in x-ray shadow microscopy

A novel implementation of x-ray shadow microscopy or x-ray absorption micro scopy for analytical purposes has been developed. When using a microfocus x -ray source (with an energy lower than 30 keV) for x-ray shadow microscopy, i.e. microradiography or microtomography, the measured intensities are dir ectly related to the spectral feature of the incident x-ray beam. In this p aper, we describe in a theoretical way the problem of quantitation without the use of any x-ray spectrometer, and we present an experimental applicati on on standard specimens (binary and ternary sample). We show that only the spectral distribution of the x-ray source used and the spectral response o f the imaging sensor are needed to solve the question of quantification. Th e accuracy of the method, and, more particularly, the potential improvement s of the current method are discussed at length. Academic users may obtain the relevant calculation software, called SimulX, as freeware, directly fro m the authors.