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X-ray Imaging in Materials Science

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2012) | Viewed by 40610

Special Issue Editor

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Pohang 37673, Korea
Interests: wetting on soft material; drop impact; x-ray imaging; x-ray diffraction; organic nanowires; silicon carbide; microradiology; microtomography

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The theme of this special issue is X-ray Imaging that focuses on instrumentation and application of X-ray microscopy in materials science. X-ray imaging with recent improvements in sources and optics is rapidly expanding in research and science of various materials including soft materials, condensed-matter materials, biomaterials, nanomaterials, etc.

This issue of Materials covers current advances in X-ray imaging techniques such as phase-contrast imaging, coherent diffraction imaging, tomography, topography, and their applications to materials science. Perspectives are welcome on upcoming new techniques or facilities, especially X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL), which will greatly extend X-ray imaging to femtosecond time domain and to interatomic length scales. Finally, we encourage considering a variety of X-ray-induced interactions, which become important for the synthesis of new materials, for the discovery of new phenomenon, or for the prevention of radiation damages, since material properties could be significantly changed with X-ray irradiation.

Prof. Dr. Jung Ho Je
Guest Editor

Keywords

  • X-ray imaging
  • X-ray microscopy
  • Coherent diffraction imaging
  • Phase contrast imaging
  • X-ray optics
  • XFEL
  • Tomography
  • Topography
  • X-ray-induced phenomena

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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1303 KiB  
Article
Carbon Nanotube Electron Emitter for X-ray Imaging
by Je Hwang Ryu, Jung Su Kang and Kyu Chang Park
Materials 2012, 5(11), 2353-2359; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma5112353 - 16 Nov 2012
Cited by 43 | Viewed by 6954
Abstract
The carbon nanotube field emitter array was grown on silicon substrate through a resist-assisted patterning (RAP) process. The shape of the carbon nanotube array is elliptical with 2.0 × 0.5 mm2 for an isotropic focal spot size at anode target. The field [...] Read more.
The carbon nanotube field emitter array was grown on silicon substrate through a resist-assisted patterning (RAP) process. The shape of the carbon nanotube array is elliptical with 2.0 × 0.5 mm2 for an isotropic focal spot size at anode target. The field emission properties with triode electrodes show a gate turn-on field of 3 V/µm at an anode emission current of 0.1 mA. The author demonstrated the X-ray source with triode electrode structure utilizing the carbon nanotube emitter, and the transmitted X-ray image was of high resolution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue X-ray Imaging in Materials Science)
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1083 KiB  
Article
A New Generation of X-ray Baggage Scanners Based on a Different Physical Principle
by Konstantin Ignatyev, Peter R.T. Munro, Deeph Chana, Robert D. Speller and Alessandro Olivo
Materials 2011, 4(10), 1846-1860; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma4101846 - 17 Oct 2011
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 8259
Abstract
X-ray baggage scanners play a basic role in the protection of airports, customs, and other strategically important buildings and infrastructures. The current technology of baggage scanners is based on x-ray attenuation, meaning that the detection of threat objects relies on how various objects [...] Read more.
X-ray baggage scanners play a basic role in the protection of airports, customs, and other strategically important buildings and infrastructures. The current technology of baggage scanners is based on x-ray attenuation, meaning that the detection of threat objects relies on how various objects differently attenuate the x-ray beams going through them. This capability is enhanced by the use of dual-energy x-ray scanners, which make the determination of the x-ray attenuation characteristics of a material more precise by taking images with different x-ray spectra, and combining the information appropriately. However, this still has limitations whenever objects with similar attenuation characteristics have to be distinguished. We describe an alternative approach based on a different x-ray interaction phenomenon, x-ray refraction. Refraction is a familiar phenomenon in visible light (e.g., what makes a straw half immersed in a glass of water appear bent), which also takes place in the x-ray regime, only causing deviations at much smaller angles. Typically, these deviations occur at the boundaries of all objects. We have developed a system that, like other “phase contrast” based instruments, is capable of detecting such deviations, and therefore of creating precise images of the contours of all objects. This complements the material-related information provided by x-ray attenuation, and helps contextualizing the nature of the individual objects, therefore resulting in an increase of both sensitivity (increased detection rate) and specificity (reduced rate of false positives) of baggage scanners. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue X-ray Imaging in Materials Science)
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Review

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3302 KiB  
Review
Hard-X-ray Zone Plates: Recent Progress
by Syue-Ren Wu, Yeukuang Hwu and Giorgio Margaritondo
Materials 2012, 5(10), 1752-1773; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma5101752 - 27 Sep 2012
Cited by 52 | Viewed by 8537
Abstract
The technology to focus hard-X-rays (photon energy larger than 1–2 keV) has made great progress in the past three years. The progress was particularly spectacular for lenses based on the Fresnel zone plate concept. The spatial resolution notably increased by a factor of [...] Read more.
The technology to focus hard-X-rays (photon energy larger than 1–2 keV) has made great progress in the past three years. The progress was particularly spectacular for lenses based on the Fresnel zone plate concept. The spatial resolution notably increased by a factor of three, opening up entirely new domains of application, specifically in biomedical research. As we shall see, this evolution is the result of a painstaking optimization of many different aspects rather than of a single technical breakthrough. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue X-ray Imaging in Materials Science)
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2087 KiB  
Review
In-Line Phase-Contrast X-ray Imaging and Tomography for Materials Science
by Sheridan C. Mayo, Andrew W. Stevenson and Stephen W. Wilkins
Materials 2012, 5(5), 937-965; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma5050937 - 24 May 2012
Cited by 146 | Viewed by 14704
Abstract
X-ray phase-contrast imaging and tomography make use of the refraction of X-rays by the sample in image formation. This provides considerable additional information in the image compared to conventional X-ray imaging methods, which rely solely on X-ray absorption by the sample. Phase-contrast imaging [...] Read more.
X-ray phase-contrast imaging and tomography make use of the refraction of X-rays by the sample in image formation. This provides considerable additional information in the image compared to conventional X-ray imaging methods, which rely solely on X-ray absorption by the sample. Phase-contrast imaging highlights edges and internal boundaries of a sample and is thus complementary to absorption contrast, which is more sensitive to the bulk of the sample. Phase-contrast can also be used to image low-density materials, which do not absorb X-rays sufficiently to form a conventional X-ray image. In the context of materials science, X-ray phase-contrast imaging and tomography have particular value in the 2D and 3D characterization of low-density materials, the detection of cracks and voids and the analysis of composites and multiphase materials where the different components have similar X-ray attenuation coefficients. Here we review the use of phase-contrast imaging and tomography for a wide variety of materials science characterization problems using both synchrotron and laboratory sources and further demonstrate the particular benefits of phase contrast in the laboratory setting with a series of case studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue X-ray Imaging in Materials Science)
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