Phase-Contrast and Dark-Field Imaging

Dear Colleagues, 

Phase-contrast and dark-field imaging have been quickly-growing topics in the field of X-ray imaging for the past 15 years, both in medical and in materials communities. More than one hundred X-ray laboratories, and many synchrotron beamlines, are, today, equipped with Talbot-interferometers, Lau-interferometers or Talbot-Lau setups. However, new setups emerge every day, e.g., based on the far-field moiré effect or on transmission X-ray microscopy. Both grating-based differential phase-contrast and dark-field image contrast have been shown to provide answers to formerly unsolvable questions in the field of medical and material imaging, e.g., imaging human lung tissue at the micrometer level or calculating local fiber orientation in carbon fiber composite automotive parts. Meanwhile, tomographic reconstruction and signal processing for these new contrast modes have become vivid fields of research in mathematics and computer science. Optimizing a grating-interferometer for a given task is not an easy task and requires detailed knowledge, both of the imaging physics and of the signal response from the specimen. Furthermore, the production processes for high-aspect optical gratings are presently at their technological limits, which will have to be overcome using entirely new approaches, if we want use DPC and DIC to inspect larger parts, e.g., from aircrafts and cars.

The intent of this Special Issue is to provide a framework where scientists in several different disciplines, related to phase-contrast and dark-field imaging, can find a place to illustrate their ideas and results.

This Special Issue is primarily focused on the following topics; however, we encourage all submissions related to phase-contrast and dark-field imaging in general:

• X-ray imaging setups for differential phase-contrast (DPC) and dark-field contrast

• Data acquisition schemes

• Signal processing of DPC, DIC and possibly higher orders

• Volume image reconstruction techniques, in particular non-linear reconstruction

• Imaging of anisotropic structures (e.g., fibers or tubes)

• Clinical and pre-clinical results from medical scanners

• Applications in materials science, biology and geology

• Novel production processes for high aspect-ratio gratings and apertures

• Fast and ultra-fast DPC and DIC imaging

• Comparison between DPC and other phase-contrast methods, e.g., inline p.-c.

• Comparison between DIC and (ultra-)small angle X-ray scattering data

• Spectral and coherence properties of X-ray beams for phase-contrast and dark-field imaging

• Modelling the imaging physics, in particular for dark-field image contrast (DIC)

• Direct photon-counting detectors for X-ray phase-contrast and dark-field imaging

• Structured anodes and compact light sources for phase-contrast and dark-field imaging

Manuscript Submission Information

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