U.S. patent application number 14/527523 was filed with the patent office on 2015-04-30 for x-ray interferometric imaging system.
The applicant listed for this patent is Sigray, Inc.. Invention is credited to Janos Kirz, Sylvia Jia Yun Lewis, Alan Francis Lyon, Wenbing Yun.
Application Number | 20150117599 14/527523 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52995462 |
Filed Date | 2015-04-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150117599 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yun; Wenbing ; et
al. |
April 30, 2015 |
X-RAY INTERFEROMETRIC IMAGING SYSTEM
Abstract
We disclose an x-ray interferometric imaging system in which the
x-ray source comprises a target having a plurality of structured
coherent sub-sources of x-rays embedded in a thermally conducting
substrate. The system additionally comprises a beam-splitting
grating G.sub.1 that establishes a Talbot interference pattern,
which may be a .pi. phase-shifting grating, and an x-ray detector
to convert two-dimensional x-ray intensities into electronic
signals. The system may also comprise a second analyzer grating
G.sub.2 that may be placed in front of the detector to form
additional interference fringes, and a means to translate the
second grating G.sub.2 relative to the detector. In some
embodiments, the structures are microstructures with lateral
dimensions measured on the order of microns, and with a thickness
on the order of one half of the electron penetration depth within
the substrate. In some embodiments, the structures are formed
within a regular array.
Inventors: |
Yun; Wenbing; (Walnut Creek,
CA) ; Lewis; Sylvia Jia Yun; (San Francisco, CA)
; Kirz; Janos; (Berkeley, CA) ; Lyon; Alan
Francis; (Berkeley, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Sigray, Inc. |
Concord |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
52995462 |
Appl. No.: |
14/527523 |
Filed: |
October 29, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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61898019 |
Oct 31, 2013 |
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|
61901361 |
Nov 7, 2013 |
|
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61981098 |
Apr 17, 2014 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
378/36 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61B 6/035 20130101;
G01N 23/041 20180201; G21K 2207/005 20130101; A61B 6/4233 20130101;
A61B 6/0407 20130101; A61B 6/484 20130101; A61B 6/4035 20130101;
G01N 23/046 20130101; A61B 6/04 20130101; A61B 6/4208 20130101;
A61B 6/0487 20200801; A61B 6/40 20130101; H01J 35/12 20130101; A61B
6/502 20130101; A61B 6/032 20130101; A61B 6/508 20130101; A61B
6/4291 20130101; H01J 35/112 20190501; A61B 6/4007 20130101; A61B
6/42 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
378/36 |
International
Class: |
A61B 6/00 20060101
A61B006/00 |
Claims
1. An x-ray interferometric imaging system comprising: a source of
x-rays comprising: a vacuum chamber; an emitter for an electron
beam; and an electron target comprising: a substrate comprising a
first material and, embedded in the substrate, at least a plurality
of discrete structures comprising a second material selected for
its x-ray generating properties, and in which said plurality of
discrete structures are arranged within a periodic pattern of
sub-sources; a beam-splitting x-ray grating positioned to diffract
x-rays generated by the sub-sources of x-rays; and an x-ray
detector comprising a two-dimensional array of x-ray detecting
elements, positioned to detect the x-rays diffracted by the
beam-splitting grating.
2. The x-ray interferometer imaging system of claim 1, in which the
ratio (Z.sub.2 .rho..sub.2)/(Z.sub.1 .rho..sub.1) for the second
material and first material is greater than 12, where Z is the
atomic number and .rho. is the mass density.
3. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 1, in which
the first selected material is selected from the group consisting
of: beryllium, diamond, graphite, silicon, boron nitride, silicon
carbide, sapphire and diamond-like carbon.
4. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 1, in which
the second material is selected from the group consisting of: iron,
cobalt, nickel, copper, gallium, zinc, yttrium, zirconium,
molybdenum, niobium, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, silver, tin,
iridium, tantalum, tungsten, indium, cesium, barium, gold,
platinum, lead and combinations and alloys thereof.
5. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 1, in which
the plurality of discrete structures have similar shapes.
6. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 5, in which
the similar shapes are selected from the group consisting of
regular prisms, right rectangular prisms, cubes, triangular prisms,
trapezoidal prisms, pyramids, tetrahedra, cylinders, spheres,
ovoids, and barrel-shapes.
7. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 1, in which
the periodic pattern for the plurality of discrete structures is a
regular grid; and in which, for one or more of the discrete
structures, the width in one dimension is less than 10 microns.
8. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 1, in which
the periodic pattern for the plurality of discrete structures is a
set of parallel lines; and in which, for one or more of the
discrete structures, the width in one dimension is less than 10
microns, and the length in a perpendicular dimension is greater
than 20 microns.
9. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 1, in which
the target also serves as a window for the vacuum chamber.
10. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 1, in which
the beam-splitting x-ray grating comprises periodic structures that
form an x-ray phase-shifting grating.
11. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 10, in which
the x-ray phase shifting grating comprises structures to introduce
a phase-shift of approximately .pi. radians for a predetermined
x-ray wavelength.
12. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 10, in which
the x-ray phase shifting grating comprises structures to introduce
a phase-shift of approximately .pi./2 radians for a predetermined
x-ray wavelength.
13. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 10, in which
the beam-splitting x-ray phase-shifting grating comprises a
one-dimensional x-ray phase-shifting grating, in which the period
p.sub.1 of the one-dimensional x-ray phase-shifting grating is
related to a dimension a for at least one of the discrete
structures of the x-ray target by: p 1 < .lamda. L a
##EQU00016## where .lamda. is a predetermined x-ray wavelength, and
L is the distance between the target and the beam-splitting x-ray
grating.
14. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 13, in which
the periodic pattern for the plurality of discrete structures is a
set of parallel lines in which the dimension a corresponds to the
width of one of more of the discrete structures and is less than 10
microns; and the set of parallel lines has an orientation parallel
with the structures of said one-dimensional x-ray phase-shifting
grating.
15. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 14, in which
the period p.sub.0 of the periodic pattern is greater than 2a.
16. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 15, in which
the period p.sub.0 of the periodic pattern is approximately 4a.
17. The x-ray interferometer imaging system of claim 10, in which
the x-ray detector is positioned at a distance from the
beam-splitting x-ray grating that corresponds to an odd multiple of
1/16.sup.th of the Talbot Distance for that grating when used with
spherical wave x-rays of a predetermined wavelength spectrum and
spatial coherence; and in which the detector has a spatial
resolution at least three times the Talbot fringe period for the
Talbot interference pattern at said odd multiple of 1/16.sup.th of
the Talbot Distance for that grating when used with x-rays of said
predetermined wavelength spectrum and spatial coherence.
18. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 1, in which
the x-ray detector comprises a scintillator, and also an array of
charged-coupled devices (CCDs).
19. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 1, in which
the x-ray detector comprises electronic elements comprising
selenium.
20. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 1,
additionally comprising: an analyzer grating placed in close
proximity to the surface of the x-ray detector.
21. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 20, in which
the analyzer grating comprises periodic structures that form an
x-ray absorption grating.
22. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 21, in which
periodic structures of the analyzer grating have a period p.sub.2
given approximately by: p 2 = p 0 D L ##EQU00017## where p.sub.0 is
the period of the periodic pattern for the sub-sources of the
target, D is the distance between the x-ray beam-splitting grating
and the analyzer grating, and L is the distance between the target
and the beam-splitting x-ray grating.
23. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 22, in which
the periodic pattern for the plurality of discrete structures in
the target is a set of parallel lines; and the beam-splitting x-ray
grating comprises a one-dimensional x-ray phase-shifting grating
having an orientation parallel with the set of parallel lines; and
the analyzer grating comprises a one-dimensional absorption grating
structure having an orientation parallel with the set of parallel
lines.
24. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 1, in which
the orientation of at least two of the discrete structures of the
target are such that, when simultaneously bombarded by electrons
from the electron emitter, the x-rays generated by one of the
discrete structures overlap in part the x-rays generated by the
another of the discrete structures, and the overlapping x-rays will
propagate together towards the beam-splitting x-ray grating.
25. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 1,
additionally comprising: a cooling system comprising: a reservoir
for storing a cooling fluid; a channel within the substrate for
conducting the cooling fluid; an additional channel to conduct the
fluid from the reservoir to the channel within the substrate; an
additional channel to conduct the fluid from the channel within the
substrate to the reservoir; and a pumping mechanism to pump the
fluid through the system.
26. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 10, in which
the x-ray phase-shifting grating comprises two-dimensional
structures that introduce a phase-shift of approximately .pi.
radians for a predetermined x-ray wavelength.
27. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 26, in which
the two-dimensional structures are arranged in a checkerboard
pattern.
28. An x-ray interferometric imaging system comprising: a source of
x-rays comprising: a vacuum chamber; at least two emitters for
electron beams; and an electron target comprising: a substrate
comprising a first material and, embedded in the substrate, at
least a one set of a plurality of discrete structures comprising a
second material selected for its x-ray generating properties, and
at least another set of a plurality of discrete structures
comprising a third material selected for its x-ray generating
properties, and in which both of said sets of a plurality of
discrete structures are arranged in a periodic pattern; a
beam-splitting x-ray grating positioned to diffract x-rays
generated by the source of x-rays; and an x-ray detector comprising
a two-dimensional array of x-ray detecting elements, positioned to
detect the x-rays diffracted by the beam-splitting grating.
29. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 28, in which
both sets of a plurality of discrete structures, when
simultaneously bombarded by electrons from the electron emitters,
are aligned such that the x-rays generated by one set of discrete
structures overlap in part the x-rays generated by the other set of
discrete structures, and the overlapping x-rays will propagate
together towards the beam-splitting x-ray grating.
30. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 28, in which
the first material is selected from the group consisting of:
beryllium, diamond, graphite, silicon, boron nitride, silicon
carbide, sapphire and diamond-like carbon.
31. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 28, in which
the second material is selected from the group consisting of: iron,
cobalt, nickel, copper, gallium, zinc, yttrium, zirconium,
molybdenum, niobium, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, silver, tin,
iridium, tantalum, tungsten, indium, cesium, barium, gold,
platinum, lead and combinations and alloys thereof.
32. The x-ray interferometric imaging system of claim 28, in which
the third material is selected from the group consisting of: iron,
cobalt, nickel, copper, gallium, zinc, yttrium, zirconium,
molybdenum, niobium, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, silver, tin,
iridium, tantalum, tungsten, indium, cesium, barium, gold,
platinum, lead and combinations and alloys thereof.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This Patent Application claims the benefit of U.S.
Provisional Patent Application Nos. 61/898,019, entitled "X-ray
Phase Contrast imaging System" and filed on Oct. 31, 2013;
61/901,361, entitled "An X-ray Source Consisting of an Array of
Fine Sub-Sources" and filed on Nov. 7, 2013; and 61/981,098
entitled "Two Dimensional Phase Contrast Imaging Apparatus" and
filed Apr. 17, 2014, all of which are incorporated herein by
reference in their entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The embodiments of the invention disclosed herein relate to
interferometric imaging systems using x-rays, and in particular,
interferometric imaging systems comprising high-brightness sources
of x-rays for generating phase-contrast images. The high brightness
x-ray sources may use anodes or targets comprising periodic
microstructures of x-ray generating materials embedded in a
thermally conducting substrate of low atomic number material.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The initial discovery of x-rays by Rontgen in 1895 [W. C.
Rontgen, "Eine Neue Art von Strahlen (Wurzburg Verlag, 1895); "On a
New Kind of Rays," Nature, Vol. 53, pp. 274-276 (Jan. 23, 1896)]
occurred when Rontgen was experimenting with electron bombardment
of targets in vacuum tubes. The contrast between the absorption
from bone containing calcium (atomic number Z=20) and soft tissue
containing mostly carbon (Z=6), was immediately apparent because
the absorption difference between the two materials at x-ray
energies between 5 and 30 keV can differ by a factor of 10 or more,
as illustrated in FIG. 1. These high energy, short wavelength
photons are now routinely used for medical applications and
diagnostic evaluations, as well as for security screening,
industrial inspection, quality control and failure analysis, and
for scientific applications such as crystallography, tomography,
x-ray fluorescence analysis and the like.
[0004] Although x-ray shadowgraphs have become a standard medical
diagnostic tool, there are problems with simple absorption contrast
imaging. Notably, for tests such as mammograms, variations in
biological tissue may result in only a subtle x-ray absorption
image contrast, making unambiguous detection of tumors or anomalous
tissue difficult.
[0005] In the past decade, a new kind of x-ray imaging methodology
has emerged, based on x-ray phase contrast interferometry. The
method relies on the well-known Talbot interference effect,
originally observed in 1837 [H. F. Talbot, "Facts relating to
optical science No. IV", Philos. Mag. vol. 9, pp. 401-407,1836] and
fully explained by Lord Rayleigh in 1881 [Lord Rayleigh, "On
copying diffraction gratings and some phenomena connected
therewith," Philos. Mag. vol. 11, pp. 196-205 (1881)].
[0006] This effect is illustrated in FIG. 2. For an absorbing
grating G of period p, the diffraction pattern from a monochromatic
beam of a wavelength .lamda. with sufficient coherence forms a
repeating interference pattern that reconstructs the original
grating pattern, (known as a "self-image") at multiples of a
distance known as the Talbot Distance D.sub.T. For the case when
the incident beam is a plane wave (equivalent to a source located
at infinity from the grating G), D.sub.T is given by:
D T = 2 p 2 .lamda. [ Eqn . 1 ] ##EQU00001##
[0007] Between the grating G and the Talbot Distance, other
periodic interference patterns emerge as well. The periodicity and
the position of the Talbot fringes depend on the transmission
properties of the grating G, including amount of phase-shift and
percent of absorption, and grating line-to-space (opening) ratio,
or duty factor. For example, for a periodic absorption grating, a
fringe pattern that reconstructs of the original grating pattern
with a lateral shift by half the grating period occurs at half the
Talbot Distance D.sub.T/2, and a fringe pattern with a period of
half of the original grating period occurs at one quarter of the
Talbot Distance D.sub.T/4 and at three quarters of the Talbot
Distance 3D.sub.T/4, as illustrated in FIG. 2. These 2-D
interference patterns are sometimes called a "Talbot Carpet"
because of the resemblance of these complex patterns to ornate
oriental carpets. [Note: this image of an Optical Talbot Carpet in
FIG. 2 is adapted from a file created by Ben Goodman and available
at
<http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Optical_Talbot_Carpet.png>.-
]
[0008] FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a prior art Talbot interferometric
comprising a partially coherent source 200 (shown as a microfocus
source) of x-rays 288 and a beam splitting grating G.sub.1 210 of
period p.sub.1 that establishes a set of Talbot interference fringe
patterns 289. It should be noted that the coherence length of the
x-ray source is preferably set to be comparable to or larger than
the period p.sub.1 of the beam splitting grating G.sub.1 210, so
that the Talbot interference fringes will have high contrast. The
beam splitting grating 210 may be an amplitude (also known an
absorption or transmission) grating, creating intensity fringes as
illustrated in FIG. 2, but is more typically a phase grating for
efficient use of the illuminating x-rays, introducing periodic
phase-shifts to the x-ray pattern that also form periodic Talbot
fringes 289. Henceforth in this application, a transmission grating
will be used to describe gratings in which the x-ray transmission
through the grating lines is less than 10% and a phase grating will
be used to describe gratings in which the phase shift through the
grating lines is a fraction (e.g. 1/2) or odd integer multiple of
.pi..
[0009] The Talbot fringes 289 are detected using an x-ray detector
290, preferably with a spatial resolution equal to or better than
one third of the Talbot fringe period and having a high x-ray
quantum detection efficiency. The detector 290 transforms the x-ray
intensity pattern into electronic signals that are transmitted over
a connector 291 to an image processing system 295. When an object
is placed in the beam path, the image processing system 295 is used
to process the x-ray intensity pattern intensity information 298 to
obtain absorption, phase, and scattering contrast images.
[0010] In practice, the spatial resolution of the detector 290
(such as a flat panel detector, or a charge coupled device (CCD)
detector coupled with a scintillator that converts x-rays to
visible light) is often on the order of tens of micrometers or
larger, and the Talbot fringes 289 may be too fine to detect
directly with the detector 290. In this case, an analyzer grating
G.sub.2 220 of period p.sub.2 is often used to produce Moire
fringes. To record a complete set of images, the analyzer grating
G.sub.2 220 will be moved in predetermined distances orthogonal to
the grating period and relative to the detector to collect multiple
interference patterns in a process called "phase-stepping", or less
commonly, rotated at a small angle relative to G.sub.1 to obtain a
Moire pattern in a single-shot image for Fourier analysis. The
image(s) are then processed to reconstruct the wavefront and
determine the shapes, structures, and composition of the objects
that created them.
[0011] It should also be noted that, instead of physically moving
the analyzer grating 220, the position of the x-ray source may also
be displaced to create a translation of the interference images
that allows the collection of phase-shift information. This can be
accomplished electronically by moving the position of the electron
beam that bombards the x-ray generating material that serves as the
source for the x-rays [see, for example, H. Miao et al.,
"Motionless phase stepping in X-ray phase contrast imaging with a
compact source", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
vol. 110(48) pp. 19268-19272, 2013] or by physically moving the
x-ray source relative to a fixed position of the analyzer grating
220.
[0012] These grating-based x-ray phase-contrast imaging (XPCI)
techniques are generally referred to as "grating-based
interferometry" (GBI).
[0013] As illustrated so far, the grating interferometer only
produces interference fringes, and the analysis of these fringes
will reveal the structure of the already known grating G.sub.1 210
or the wavefront of the illumination beam. However, when an object
is introduced in the path of the x-ray beam, variations in the
wavefront introduced by the object result in corresponding changes
in the pattern of the Talbot interference fringes, generally known
as Moire fringes. Interferometric image reconstruction techniques
may then be used to analyze the wavefront and reconstruct images
representing the structure of the unknown object.
[0014] In FIG. 5, the prior art Talbot interferometer of FIGS. 3
and 4 is illustrated being used as an imaging technique for a
biological sample, in this case, a mouse 240-M, placed between the
source 200 and the beam splitting grating G.sub.1 210. The x-rays
288 from the coherent source 200 pass through the mouse 240-M and
the beam splitting grating G.sub.1 210 and create a perturbed set
of Talbot fringes 289-M. The local phase shifts create angular
deviations that translate into changes of locally transmitted
intensity when analyzed by the analyzer grating G.sub.2 220 and
detector 290. Collecting multiple images from the x-ray detector
290 for situations where the analyzer grating G.sub.2 220 has been
displaced by multiple predetermined positions allow a recording of
the interference pattern 289-M.
[0015] As before, the detector 290 transforms the x-ray intensity
pattern into electronic signals that transmitted over a connector
291 to an image processing system 295 used to produce one or more
images 298-M with absorption, differential phase, phase, and
scattering contrast information. Numerical processing of the
images, including images collected by the system with and without
the object under investigation, can be used to infer the shapes and
structure of the objects that created them, including objects such
as the mouse 240-M. The recorded intensity oscillations can be
represented by a Fourier series, and with the proper image
processing algorithms, differential phase shift and absorption
signals can be extracted, and images corresponding to x-ray
absorption, phase contrast, and scattering by the object can be
synthesized. [See, for example, A. Momose et al., "Demonstration of
x-ray Talbot interferometry", Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 42, pp.
L866-L868, 2003; A. Momose, U.S. Pat. No. 7,180,979, issued Feb.
20, 2007; and T. Weitkamp et al. "Hard X-ray phase imaging and
tomography with a grating interferometer", Proc. SPIE vol 5535, pp.
137-142, 2004, and "X-ray phase imaging with a grating
interferometer", Optics Express vol. 13(16), pp. 6296-6304,
2005.]
[0016] It should be noted that other configurations exist in which
the object, such as a mouse 240-M, can be placed between the beam
splitting grating G.sub.1 210-A and the analyzer grating G.sub.2
220 and detector 290, as illustrated in FIG. 6. Other
configurations using various phase and amplitude gratings, or using
detector 290 with higher resolution pixels without the analyzer
grating 220, may also be known to those skilled in the art.
[0017] Aside from imaging the anatomy of mice, clinical
applications of phase-contrast x-ray imaging may be found in
mammography, where the density of cancerous tissue may have a
distinct phase signature from healthy tissue [see, for example, J.
Keyrilainen et al., "Phase contrast X-ray imaging of breast", Acta
Radiologica vol. 51 (8) pp. 866-884, 2010], or for bone diseases
like osteoporosis or osteoarthritis, in which the angular
orientation of the bone structures may be an early indicator of
bone disease [See, for example, P. Coan et al., "In vivo x-ray
phase contrast analyzer-based imaging for longitudinal
osteoarthritis studies in guinea pigs", Phys. Med. Biol. vol.
55(24), pp. 7649-62, 2010].
[0018] However, for the prior art configurations described so far,
x-ray power is a problem. An x-ray source with a full-width half
maximum diameter S given by
S .ltoreq. .lamda. L 2 .pi. p 1 [ Eqn . 2 ] ##EQU00002##
where p.sub.1 is the period of the beam splitting grating G.sub.1
210 and L the distance between the source 200 and the beam
splitting grating G.sub.1 210, is required for the technique to
produce high contrast fringes and Moire patterns. For practical
applications and system geometries, this implies a microfocus
source. However, electron bombardment of the target also causes
heating, and the x-ray power that can be achieved is limited by the
maximum total electron power that can fall on the microspot without
melting the x-ray generating material. A limited electron power
means a limited x-ray power, and the low x-ray flux achievable with
typical x-ray targets may lead to unacceptable long exposure times
when used, for example, for mammography or other diagnostic tests
involving live patients or animals. The total x-ray flux can be
increased by distributing higher electron power over a larger area,
but then the source becomes less coherent, degrading the image
contrast.
[0019] Coherent x-rays of higher brightness and sufficient flux can
be achieved by using a synchrotron or free-electron laser x-ray
source, but these machines may occupy facilities that cover acres
of land, and are impractical for use in clinical environments.
[0020] One innovation that has been shown to enable greater x-ray
power employs an additional grating G.sub.0 [see, for example, John
F. Clauser, U.S. Pat. No. 5,812,629, issued Sep. 22, 1998]. Such a
system is illustrated in FIG. 7. In this configuration, a source
grating G.sub.0 300 with period p.sub.0, which is typically an
x-ray transmission grating, is used in front of an x-ray source
300. In this case, the x-ray source may be a high-power extended
source with a large incident electron beam area (and not a
microfocus source) that produces a higher total flux of x-rays.
[0021] The x-rays 388 pass through the grating G.sub.0 308 and
emerge from the grating apertures as an array of individually
spatially coherent (similar to a microfocus source described above)
but mutually incoherent sub-sources of illumination for the beam
splitting grating G.sub.1. To ensure that each x-ray sub-source in
G.sub.0 contributes constructively to the image-formation process,
the geometry of the setup should satisfy the condition:
p 0 = p 2 L D [ Eqn . 3 ] ##EQU00003##
When the condition is met, the x-rays from the many apertures of
G.sub.0 produce the same (overlapping) Talbot interference pattern,
and because the various mutually incoherent sources do not
interfere with each other, these Talbot patterns will add as
intensities. The effect at the detector 290 is therefore to simply
increasing the signal (along with it the signal-to-noise ratio)
over what a single coherent source can provide.
[0022] This configuration is called the Talbot-Lau interferometer
[see Franz Pfeiffer et al., "Phase retrieval and differential
phase-contrast imaging with low-brilliance X-ray sources", Nature
Physics vol. 2, pp. 258-261, 2006; and also Described in U.S. Pat.
No. 7,889,838 by Christian David, Franz Pfeiffer and Timm Weitkamp,
issued Feb. 15, 2011].
[0023] FIG. 8 illustrates x-ray images of a live mouse collected
using a Talbot-Lau interferometer, as reported by Martin Bech [M.
Bech et al., "In-vivo dark-field and phase-contrast x-ray imaging",
Scientific Reports 3, Article number: 3209, 2013, FIG. 1]. The
x-ray energy used was 31 keV, and the gratings were fabricated by
lithographically etching structures in silicon (Z=14). Absorption
gratings G.sub.0 for the source and G.sub.2 for the analyzer were
created by additionally coating the patterned silicon with gold
(Z=79).
[0024] All of the images of FIG. 8 were reported as reconstructed
from the same set of 5 interferometric images, each collected over
an exposure time of 10 seconds. The raw images were Fourier
processed and ramp corrected to obtain the three image modalities.
FIG. 8A illustrates an intensity image based on x-ray attenuation,
showing the absorption contrast between the bones and soft tissue.
FIG. 8B illustrates a phase-contrast image, which clearly
identifies soft tissue structures such as the trachea (illustrated
with an arrow). FIG. 8C illustrates an additional dark-field
contrast image due to x-ray scattering from fine features with
linear dimensions less than the spatial resolution of the imaging
system, which strongly highlights the fur and lungs.
[0025] Unfortunately, the current art of Talbot-Lau GBIs have many
constraints for most practical applications such as clinical
imaging, including a requirement that both the source grating
G.sub.0 and the analyzer grating G.sub.2 have fine pitches and
apertures with large aspect ratios.
[0026] The requirement for the source grating G.sub.0 is to create
fine individual well-separated x-ray sub-sources to minimize the
reduction in image contrast due to unwanted transmission of x-rays
through the aperture defining structures. However, for a 1:1
line-to-space ratio grating, simple x-ray shadowing dictates that
the x-ray transmission through the grating is limited to less than
50%, and is reduced further when the angular shadowing (limiting
the angular range of the x-rays from the source to reach the
object) is included. Furthermore, the optimal line-to-space ratio
for G.sub.0 that reduces the radiation dose to the object (which is
important to preclinical and clinical imaging applications) is
closer to 3:1 rather than 1:1. In this case, about 75% of the
x-rays from the source are blocked due to area shadowing alone, and
when gratings with large aspect ratios are used, greater losses
occur due to angular shadowing.
[0027] The requirement for the analyzer grating G.sub.2 is to be
able to sample the Talbot interference fringes with sufficient
resolution without losing contrast. As a result, both the G.sub.0
and G.sub.2 gratings must have small apertures and be of thickness
sufficient to minimize unwanted x-ray transmission, which limits
the efficient use of the x-rays from the source. Furthermore, the
loss from the analyzer grating G.sub.2 further results in a
significantly higher dose (relative to the same system without a
G.sub.2 grating) for the object under investigation to produce an
image with good characteristics due to multiple exposures for
phase-stepping and absorption of x-rays resulting in lower
signal-to-noise. When the object under investigation is a live
animal or human, higher doses of ionizing radiation are undesirable
and generally discouraged.
[0028] If the aperture dimensions of the grating G.sub.0 are
larger, angular collimation can be reduced (although not the area
shadowing) so that x-ray transmission is not reduced as severely,
but this reduces the spatial coherence length of the x-ray beam
downstream from the apertures, and leads a reduction in image
contrast. Smaller apertures can increase the possible image
contrast and resolution by improving spatial coherence, but
decreases the overall number of x-rays in the system, thus
requiring longer exposure times. Moreover, with smaller apertures,
these fine gratings become more difficult to manufacture.
[0029] The problem is exacerbated when attempting to use a
Talbot-Lau interferometer for higher energy x-rays, which are often
desired to obtain sufficient transmission through an object and to
reduce ration does. In general, as was illustrated in FIG. 1, the
absorption of x-rays for biological tissue is far lower for x-rays
with energy greater than 5 keV, and the use of higher energy x-rays
will reduce the absorbed dose of potentially harmful ionizing
radiation by orders of magnitude. However, 5 keV photons have a
wavelength of 0.248 nm, and 50 keV have a wavelength 10 times
smaller (0.0248 nm). Furthermore, building absorbing gratings such
as G.sub.0 and G.sub.2 for these higher energy, shorter wavelength
x-rays can present difficulties, as the thickness of the gratings
must increase exponentially to maintain the same absorption factor
for higher energy x-rays (the x-ray attenuation length is
approximately proportional to E.sub.kev.sup.3).
[0030] The preceding problems of Talbot-Lau GBIs using linear
gratings, which can be used for collecting interference data in one
dimension only, become more severe if one wishes to generate
phase-contrast images in two orthogonal directions. This is often
required to make the image reconstruction robust and images more
understandable, and because features parallel to the grating lines
in the 1-D case are typically less accurately measured. One simple
approach is to perform XPCI in two orthogonal directions and then
subsequently register the two datasets properly. In addition to
challenges associated with the imaging and registration processes,
this approach may not be practical, especially when used with
living subjects who may move or simply become impatient, and who
will incur increased dosage (doubled) if the phase stepping must be
performed in two directions. Simultaneous two-dimensional XPCI
would be desirable, especially if data collection in a single
exposure (shot) and at high x-ray energies is possible to reduce
exposure times and the absorbed dosage.
[0031] There is therefore a need for an x-ray interferometric
imaging system that offers the resolution and detection
capabilities of the Talbot-Lau interferometer, but employing a
brighter compact source of x-rays and, ideally, a brighter source
of higher energy x-rays, especially one that could provide
simultaneous two-dimensional phase-contrast imaging.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0032] We disclose here an x-ray interferometric imaging system in
which the x-ray source comprises a target having a plurality of
microstructured x-ray generating materials arranged within a
periodic array pattern to form periodic sub-sources of x-rays. The
system additionally comprises a beam-splitting grating G.sub.1 that
creates a Talbot interference pattern, and an x-ray detector to
convert two-dimensional x-ray intensities into electronic
signals.
[0033] If the spatial resolution of the detector is equal to or
better than one third of the Talbot fringe period, the detector may
record the fringes directly. The system may also comprise a second
analyzer grating G.sub.2 that may be placed in front of the
detector to form additional interference fringes, and a means to
translate the analyzer grating G.sub.2 relative to the detector to
create Moire fringes at the detector. Additionally, the system may
comprise a means of translating the phase grating G.sub.1 relative
to the analyzer grating G.sub.2.
[0034] The x-ray source target comprises a plurality of
microstructures of x-ray generating materials (such as molybdenum
or tungsten) in close thermal contact with a thermally conducting
substrate of a low atomic number material, such as diamond or
beryllium. The x-ray generating microstructures may be arranged in
a periodic pattern, with each periodic element of the pattern
corresponding to a single discrete microstructure or alternatively,
with each periodic element of the pattern comprising multiple
discrete microstructures. One or more sources of electrons bombard
the plurality of x-ray generating materials, which are generally
arranged within a periodic array, so that the x-ray generated from
each periodic array element serves as an individually coherent
sub-source of x-rays of illumination for the beam splitting grating
G.sub.1. In some embodiments, the microstructures have lateral
dimensions measured on the order of microns, and with a thickness
on the order of one half of the electron penetration depth within
the substrate material. In some embodiments, the microstructures
are formed in a regular two-dimensional array.
[0035] The beam splitting grating G.sub.1 may be a phase grating or
an absorption grating. The analyzer grating G.sub.2 is generally a
transmission grating. Both gratings G.sub.1 and G.sub.2 may be
fabricated as lithographically produced microstructures in silicon,
and may comprise 1-D structures, 2-D structures, or combinations
thereof.
[0036] A particular advantage of the invention is that high x-ray
brightness and large x-ray power may be achieved by using an x-ray
target in which the microstructures of a high Z material are in
close thermal contact with, or embedded in, a substrate of low Z
material and high thermal conductivity, such as beryllium or
diamond. The ability of the substrate to draw heat away from the
x-ray generating material allows higher electron density and power
to be used, generating greater x-ray brightness and power from each
of the sub-sources. This results in the creation of individual,
well-separated spatially coherent x-ray sub-sources from the high Z
material, while the use of a substrate with low Z and low mass
density minimizes the production of x-rays from the substrate that
can lead to a reduction in image contrast.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0037] FIG. 1 illustrates a plot of the x-ray absorption of carbon
and calcium as a function of x-ray energy.
[0038] FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art Talbot interference pattern
produced by a transmission grating.
[0039] FIG. 3 illustrates a prior art x-ray grating interference
system using a microfocus source.
[0040] FIG. 4 illustrates a cross section view of the prior art
x-ray grating interference system of FIG. 3.
[0041] FIG. 5 illustrates the prior art x-ray grating interference
system of FIG. 3 used to form an x-ray contrast image of a
mouse.
[0042] FIG. 6 illustrates a variation of the prior art x-ray
grating interference system of FIG. 3 used to form an x-ray
contrast image of a mouse.
[0043] FIG. 7 illustrates a prior art Talbot-Lau interferometer
being used to form an x-ray contrast image of a mouse.
[0044] FIG. 8A illustrates a published x-ray absorption image of a
mouse gathered using a prior art Talbot-Lau interference
system.
[0045] FIG. 8B illustrates a published x-ray phase-contrast image
of a mouse gathered using a prior art Talbot-Lau interference
system.
[0046] FIG. 8C illustrates a published x-ray dark field scattering
image of a mouse gathered using a prior art Talbot-Lau interference
system.
[0047] FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic cross-section view of an
embodiment of an x-ray interferometric imaging system according to
the invention.
[0048] FIG. 10 illustrates a schematic cross-section view of an
embodiment of the invention.
[0049] FIG. 11 illustrates a perspective view of the embodiment of
the invention shown in FIG. 10, in which the x-ray target comprises
two dimensional periodic array of x-ray generating
microstructures.
[0050] FIG. 12 illustrates a detailed schematic cross-section view
of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.
[0051] FIG. 13 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of
the invention in which the x-ray target comprises of x-ray
generating microstructures in the form of parallel lines.
[0052] FIG. 14 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of
the invention in which the object (a mouse) is placed between the
gratings G.sub.1 and G.sub.2.
[0053] FIG. 15 illustrates a detailed schematic cross-section view
of an embodiment of the invention in which a high-resolution
detector is used without an analyzer grating.
[0054] FIG. 16 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of
the invention in which the object (a mouse) is placed between the
grating G.sub.1 and the detector, and the grating G.sub.1 comprises
a two-dimensional phase structure.
[0055] FIG. 17 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of
the invention in which the object (a mouse) is placed between the
source and the grating G.sub.1, and the grating G.sub.1 comprises a
two-dimensional phase structure.
[0056] FIG. 18 illustrates a schematic cross-section view of an
embodiment of the invention in which the target is mounted within
the vacuum chamber.
[0057] FIG. 19 illustrates a detailed schematic cross-section view
of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 18.
[0058] FIG. 20 illustrates a schematic cross-section view of an
embodiment of the invention in which the target is mounted within
the vacuum chamber and x-rays are generated using linear
accumulation.
[0059] FIG. 21 illustrates a detailed schematic cross-section view
of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 20.
[0060] FIG. 22 illustrates a schematic cross-section view of an
embodiment of the invention in which two electron beams bombard the
target from both sides.
[0061] FIG. 23 illustrates a detailed schematic cross-section view
of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 22.
[0062] FIG. 24 illustrates a perspective view of a target
comprising a grid of embedded rectangular target microstructures on
a larger substrate that may be used in some embodiments of the
invention.
[0063] FIG. 25 illustrates a perspective view of a variation of a
target comprising a grid of embedded rectangular target
microstructures on a larger substrate for use with focused electron
beam that may be used in some embodiments of the invention.
[0064] FIG. 26A illustrates a perspective view of a target
comprising a grid of embedded rectangular target microstructures as
used in some embodiments of the invention.
[0065] FIG. 26B illustrates a top view of the target of FIG.
26A.
[0066] FIG. 26C illustrates a side/cross-section view of the target
of FIGS. 26A and 26B.
[0067] FIG. 27A illustrates a perspective view of a target
comprising a set of embedded rectangular target microstructures
forming a periodic linear pattern as used in some embodiments of
the invention.
[0068] FIG. 27B illustrates a top view of the target of FIG.
27A.
[0069] FIG. 27C illustrates a side/cross-section view of the target
of FIGS. 27A and 27B.
[0070] FIG. 28 illustrates variations in target structure for a
target as shown in FIG. 26 that may arise from processing
variations.
[0071] FIG. 29 illustrates variations in target structure for a
target as shown in FIG. 27 that may arise from processing
variations.
[0072] FIG. 30 illustrates a cross-section view of a portion of the
target of FIG. 26, showing thermal transfer to a thermally
conducting substrate under electron beam exposure according to the
invention.
[0073] FIG. 31 illustrates a cross-section view of a variation of
the target of FIGS. 26 and 30 comprising a substrate with a thermal
cooling channel according to the invention.
[0074] FIG. 32 illustrates a cross-section view of another
variation of the target of FIG. 26 comprising an adhesion layer
according to the invention.
[0075] FIG. 33 illustrates a cross-section view of another
variation of the target of FIG. 26 comprising an electrically
conducting overcoat according to the invention.
[0076] FIG. 34 illustrates a cross-section view of another
variation of the target of FIG. 26 comprising buried x-ray material
according to the invention.
[0077] FIG. 35 illustrates a cross-section view of another
variation of the target of FIG. 26 comprising buried x-ray material
and a thick thermally and electrically conducting overcoat
according to the invention.
[0078] FIG. 36 illustrates a cross-section view of another
variation of the target of FIG. 26 comprising an additional
blocking structures on the back surface of the substrate, to block
the transmission of x-rays produced by the substrate
[0079] FIG. 37 illustrates a plot of the x-ray absorption of gold
and silicon as a function of x-ray energy.
[0080] FIG. 38 illustrates a possible structure of an x-ray phase
grating according to some embodiments of the invention.
[0081] FIG. 39 illustrates a possible structure of an x-ray
absorption grating according to some embodiments of the
invention.
[0082] Note: The illustrations in the Drawings disclosed in this
Application are typically not shown to scale, and are meant to
illustrate the principle of the invention and its function only,
and not specific relationships between the microstructures in the
target and the various grating periods p.sub.1, p.sub.2 and
p.sub.3. Please refer to the descriptions in the text of the
Specification for specific details of the dimensions of these
objects.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
1. Descriptions of Various Embodiments of the Invention
[0083] One embodiment of the invention disclosed herein is an x-ray
phase-contrast imaging (XPCI) system as illustrated in FIG. 9. The
system bears some similarity to the prior art Talbot-Lau
interferometer, in that it comprises a beam splitting grating
G.sub.1 210 of period p.sub.1 that establishes a Talbot
interference pattern, and an x-ray detector 290 typically
comprising an array of sensors to convert two-dimensional x-ray
intensities into electronic signals. The beam splitting grating
G.sub.1 210 may be a phase grating or a transmission grating, and
may comprise 1-D periodic patterns (linear gratings), or may
comprise more complex 2-D structures such as a grid that is
periodic in two orthogonal directions. The system may also comprise
an analyzer grating G.sub.2 220 of period p.sub.2 that may be
placed in front of the detector to form additional interference
fringes, such as Moire fringes. The system may additionally
comprise a means 225 to translate the analyzer grating G.sub.2 220
relative to the detector, and a connector 291 to transmit
electronic signals corresponding to the detected x-ray intensity to
an image processing system 295 for processing.
[0084] However, instead of using an extended x-ray source and an
additional grating G.sub.0 to create a plurality of x-ray source
spots, as was done in the Talbot-Lau system, the embodiments of the
present invention use an x-ray source comprising a plurality of
x-ray generating sub-sources 108 arranged in a periodic array that
generate x-rays 188 from electron beam bombardment, such that each
sub-source is individually coherent, but together function as a set
of mutually incoherent or partially coherent sub-sources of
illumination for the beam splitting grating G.sub.1. As with the
combination of the extended x-ray source and the source grating of
the Talbot-Lau interferometer, these sub-sources 108 form the
Talbot interference fringe patterns that are created by the beam
splitting grating G.sub.1 210 and perturbed by an object 240-M, and
may be recorded by detector 290. If the spatial resolution of the
detector 290 has a spatial resolution equal to or better than one
third of the Talbot fringe period, the detector may record the
fringes directly. If a lower resolution detector is used, an
analyzer grating G.sub.2 220 may also be used to create Moire
fringes, as was described for the Talbot-Lau interferometer.
[0085] The plurality of discrete x-ray sub-sources can be
considerably brighter than the x-ray source of the Talbot-Lau
system. Because the source comprises sub-sources that are
self-coherent but may be mutually incoherent, there is no need for
an attenuating transmission grating G.sub.0 to create an array of
sub-sources from an extended x-ray source.
[0086] A system according to the invention comprising multiple
sub-sources in a structured target may be designated a Talbot-ST
interferometer.
[0087] FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 show a more detailed illustration of one
embodiment of the invention, in which the array of sub-sources are
formed using microstructures of x-ray generating material embedded
in a thermally conducting substrate. In this embodiment, an x-ray
source 008 illuminates an object 240-M and a beam-splitting grating
G.sub.1 210, and the interference pattern they form is detected by
a detector 290.
[0088] For the x-ray source 008, a high voltage power supply 010
provides electrons through a lead 021 to an electron emitter 011 in
a vacuum chamber 002 held to a shielding housing 005 by supports
003. The electron emitter 011 emits electrons 111 towards a target
100. The target 100 comprises a substrate 1000 and a region that
comprises a periodic array of discrete microstructures 700
comprising x-ray generating material (typically a high Z metallic
material such as copper, molybdenum or tungsten) positioned on or
embedded or buried in the substrate (typically a low Z material
such as beryllium, diamond, silicon carbide). The discrete
microstructures 700 may be any number of sizes or shapes, but are
generally designed to be periodic arrays of right rectangular
prisms with lateral dimensions on the order of microns in size in
at least one dimension, such that the emission from each
microstructure acts as a sub-source of x-rays with a spatial
coherence length that is comparable to or larger than the grating
period p.sub.1 at the beam splitting grating G.sub.1 210.
Additionally, the microstructures are preferably of a thickness (as
typically measured orthogonal to the target surface) that is on the
order of one half of the electron penetration depth within the
substrate material.
[0089] The period p.sub.0 of the microstructures 700 that form the
x-ray sub-sources is related to the other geometric parameters in
the system by:
p 0 = p 2 L D [ Eqn . 4 ] ##EQU00004##
where L is the distance from the x-ray sub-sources 700 to the
grating G.sub.1 210, and D is the distance from the grating G.sub.1
to the detector/analyzer grating G.sub.2 220 with period p.sub.2.
In some embodiments, D will be set to be one of the fractional
Talbot distances with interference fringes of high contrast
(visibility), defined by:
Contrast = I max - I min I max + I min [ Eqn . 5 ] ##EQU00005##
where I.sub.max and I.sub.min is the intensity peak and valley of
the Talbot interference fringes without an object in the beam path,
respectively.
[0090] For plane wave illumination (i.e. equivalent to the x-ray
source being located at infinity) of a beam-splitting grating with
a .pi. phase-shift, the distance D is preferably given by:
D = D N = N p 1 2 8 .lamda. = N 16 D T [ Eqn . 6 ] ##EQU00006##
where D.sub.N is the fractional Talbot distance for a plane wave
illumination, .lamda. is the mean x-ray wavelength, and N is
referred to as a Talbot fractional order. The preferred value of D
is dependent on the attenuating or phase shifting properties of the
beam-splitting grating G.sub.1, the line-space ratio of the
beam-splitting grating G.sub.1, and the source-to-grating distance
L. For a .pi. phase-shifting grating with a line-to-space ratio of
1:1, an odd integer fractional Talbot order N (N=1, 3, 5 . . . ) is
preferred for determining the distance D. For an x-ray source
located at a finite distance (e.g. L not infinity), D is increased
to:
D = L .times. D N L - D N [ Eqn . 7 ] ##EQU00007##
[0091] The Talbot fringe period p.sub.f for a given fractional
order is given by:
p f = Kp 1 L + D L [ Eqn . 8 ] ##EQU00008##
where K is a parameter dependent on the attenuating or phase
shifting properties of the beam-splitting grating G.sub.1. K equals
0.5 when the beam-splitting grating is a .pi. phase-shift grating,
and equals 1 when the beam splitting grating is a .pi./2 phase
shift grating.
[0092] Likewise, the Talbot fringe contrast is improved if a
smaller x-ray sub-source size (i.e. more spatially coherent x-rays)
is used, and in which the pitch p.sub.1 used for the beam splitting
grating G.sub.1 is related to the size of the sub-source a and the
distance L between them, satisfying the following requirement:
p 1 < .lamda. L a [ Eqn . 9 ] ##EQU00009##
where .lamda. is a predetermined x-ray wavelength that will
generally correspond to the wavelength of the monochromatic x-rays
produced by the corresponding sub-source, or the mean x-ray
wavelength for an x-ray sub-source with a broader spectrum.
[0093] In the vacuum chamber 002, electrons 111 bombard the target,
and generate heat and x-rays 888 in the microstructures 700. The
material in the substrate 1000 is selected such that it has
relatively low energy deposition rate for electrons in comparison
to the microstructures of the x-ray generating material, typically
by selecting a low Z material for the substrate, and therefore will
not generate a significant amount of heat and x-rays. The substrate
1000 material may also be chosen to have a high thermal
conductivity, typically larger than 100 W/(m .degree. C.). The
microstructures of the x-ray generating material are also typically
embedded within the substrate, i.e. if the microstructures are
shaped as rectangular prisms, it is preferred that at least five of
the six sides are in close thermal contact with the substrate 1000,
so that heat generated in the microstructures 700 is effectively
conducted away into the substrate 1000. However, targets used in
other embodiments may have fewer direct contact surfaces. In
general, when the term "embedded" is used in this disclosure, at
least half of the surface area of the microstructure will be in
close thermal contact with the substrate.
[0094] The microstructures are typically connected electrically
with a lead 022 to the positive terminal of the high voltage source
010 to allow the target to serve as an anode in the electrical
system. Alternatively, the target may be grounded while the cathode
(electron emitter) is of negative charge, or the target may be
connected to a positive terminal while the cathode is grounded, so
long as the anode is of relative higher voltage than the cathode.
Additionally, in some embodiments, electron optics such as
electrostatic lenses or magnetic coils may be placed inside or
outside of the vacuum chamber 002 around or near the path of
electrons 111 to further direct and focus the electron beam.
[0095] The target 100 as illustrated may additionally serve as a
window in the vacuum chamber 002 so that the x-ray generating
material is facing the interior of the vacuum chamber and the
electron source, but x-rays 888 are also propagate through the back
side of the target 100 towards the beam-splitting grating G.sub.1
210. In other embodiments, a separate window is used, and
additional x-ray filters may also be used
[0096] Once generated by the source 008, the x-rays 888 may pass
through an optional shutter 230, an x-ray spectral filter to obtain
a desired spectral bandwidth with a desired wavelength, and an
object 240-M to be investigated. The x-rays then diffract off the
beam splitting grating G.sub.1 210, which may additionally be
mounted on a substrate 211, and then fall on the analyzer grating
G.sub.2 220, which may also be mounted on a substrate 221. The
final interference pattern will be detected by an array detector
290 that provides electrical signals corresponding to the x-ray
intensity through a connector 291 to an image processing system 295
for analysis.
[0097] In addition to the x-ray source and interference detection
system, means to move the object 240-M and the various gratings
relative to each other, to the detector, and to the source may be
used. In FIG. 10, the image processing system 295 may also be
connected through a network 231 to a means 245 of controlling a
stage 244 that sets the position and angle of the object 240-M, to
a means 215 of controlling a mount 214 that sets the position and
angle of the beam splitting grating G.sub.1 210, and to a means 225
of controlling a mount 224 that sets the position and angle of the
analyzer grating G.sub.2 220, as well as a possible connection to
the shutter 230 or to a switch 013 for the high voltage supply 010
to allow the x-rays to be moved and modulated (such as being turned
on and off). Software run by processors in the image processing
system 295 may control the motion of the gratings G.sub.1 210,
G.sub.2 220, the object 240-M, and also the x-ray exposure to allow
the collection of the multiple images needed to obtain detailed
amplitude, differential phase, phase-contrast, and scattering
contrast images of the object 240-M.
[0098] Additional embodiments may also include controls that allow
the electron beam to be moved or modulated. For example,
embodiments may be designed that additionally comprise a means of
translating the x-ray source anode relative to the analyzer grating
G.sub.2. Additional embodiments that also allow the position and
angle of the x-ray detector 290 to be adjusted may also be
designed.
[0099] FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which
the target 100 comprises a substrate 1000 and a plurality of
microstructured line sources 701. These microstructured line
sub-sources 701 will typically be a few microns wide in one
direction (corresponding to the sub-source size parameter a,
generally in the dimension orthogonal to the direction of the lines
of the gratings G.sub.1 210 and G.sub.2 220, which corresponds to
the y-direction in FIG. 13) but much longer (e.g. up to 1000
microns) in the direction parallel to the lines (which corresponds
to the x-direction in FIG. 13). The pitch of the microstructures
701 as sub-sources as shown in FIG. 13 is p.sub.0, and is related
to the pitch of the analyzer/detector by Equation 4.
[0100] FIG. 14 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which
the object 240-M to be examined is placed between the gratings
G.sub.1 210 and the detector 290. The microstructures 700 of x-ray
generating material on the target as illustrated in FIG. 14
comprise sub-sources arranged in a 2-D periodic array in two
orthogonal directions, but may be any periodic array that satisfies
the coherence illumination condition of the beam-splitting grating
G.sub.1 210, including a grid, a mesh, a checkerboard, or other
periodic structures.
[0101] If the gratings comprise one-dimensional structures, the
microstructures 700 in the source target 100 need only be periodic
in the same direction as the 1-D arrays of G.sub.1 210 and G.sub.2
220 (i.e. the lines of microstructures 701 are ideally parallel to
the lines of the gratings) but can have arbitrary or non-periodic
structure in the perpendicular direction.
[0102] FIG. 15 additionally illustrates an embodiment of the
invention in which the there is no analyzer grating G.sub.2 220,
but instead the detector 299 has a high resolution array G.sub.D
with a pixel resolution equal to or better than one third (1/3) of
the Talbot fringe period in the direction orthogonal to the grating
lines. With this resolution, a single exposure image may be
processed to obtain absorption, phase, and scattering contrast
images simultaneously. This can be advantageous in that the
intensity loss of 50% or more that typically occurs for x-rays
passing through G.sub.2 220 is avoided, and the signal reaching the
detector and therefore the signal-to-noise ratio is substantially
higher.
[0103] In order to collect the multiple images for the calculation
of detailed amplitude, differential phase, phase-contrast, and
scattering contrast images for an object 240-M, the embodiment of
FIG. 15 may additionally comprise a means 255 for translating the
detector 290, not only in the two lateral directions parallel to
the plane of the grating G.sub.1, but also in direction defined
along the path of x-ray propagation, to ensure that the detector
299 is placed at the correct multiple of the Talbot distance
T.sub.D.
[0104] FIG. 16 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which
the beam splitting grating G.sub.1 210-2D comprises a
two-dimensional periodic array, which may be either a transmission
or a phase grating. When using a 2-D beam-splitting grating of this
type, the patterns may be arranged in any one of a number of
periodic patterns, including a mesh, a checkerboard, a circular 2-D
array, or other periodic arrays.
[0105] FIG. 16 illustrates the use of a 2-D beam splitting grating
G.sub.1 210-2D in conjunction with a high-resolution detector 299,
as was also shown in FIG. 15. To simultaneously obtain a
differential phase contrast, phase contrast, absorption, scattering
contrast images in two orthogonal directions, the geometric
parameters, including the x-ray sub-source size a, the period
p.sub.1 of the grating G.sub.1 210-2D and the distance L, need to
satisfy the coherence illumination condition of the grating G.sub.1
in both directions. As before, the detector 299 has spatial
resolution equal to or better than 1/3 of the Talbot fringe period
in the two orthogonal directions in the image plane and is
positioned to be aligned with the Talbot fringe pattern.
[0106] Such embodiments with 2-D patterns on the beam splitting
grating G.sub.1 210-2D may also be used with the previously
described lower resolution detector 290 in conjunction with a
two-dimensional analyzer grating G.sub.2 which may be phase stepped
in two directions in any sequence so that the phase information is
obtained in both orthogonal directions. Similar to the description
of G.sub.1 210-2D above, this 2-D analyzer grating G.sub.2 may be
of any periodic structure such as a mesh, a checkerboard, or 2-D
array of structures such as circles, triangles, squares,
rectangles, etc.
[0107] FIG. 17 represents an embodiment similar to FIG. 16, except
that the object 240-M under examination is now placed between the
x-ray source and the beam-splitting grating 210-2D.
[0108] Note that some of the embodiments are one-dimensional
Talbot-Yun interferometers in which absorption, phase, and
scattering information is obtained in one direction and incorporate
one or more 1-D gratings in combination with a micro structured
source target that is periodic in at least in the direction
perpendicular to the grating line direction (but may be periodic in
other directions as well). Other embodiments are two-dimensional
Talbot-ST interferometers in which absorption, phase, and
scattering information is obtained in two orthogonal directions (or
all three dimensions by performing computed tomography using the
2-D Talbot-Yun setup).
[0109] FIGS. 18 and 19 illustrate another embodiment of the
invention in which the x-ray source 080 comprises a vacuum chamber
020 supported on mounts 030 within an x-ray shielding housing 050.
The source 080 also comprises a target 100 comprising a substrate
1000 and a periodic pattern comprising x-ray sub-sources 700
mounted entirely within the vacuum chamber 020. As before, this
embodiment also comprises a high voltage source 010, which has a
negative terminal connected through a lead 021-A to an electron
emitter 011-A, while the positive terminal is connected through one
or more leads 022 to the microstructures in the target, allowing
them to serve as an anode.
[0110] However, in this embodiment, the surface of the target 100
comprising the periodic array of x-ray sub-sources 700 comprising
of x-ray generating material is facing a window 040 mounted in the
wall of the vacuum chamber 020, and the electron emitter 011-A is
aligned to emit a beam of electrons 111-A onto the surface of the
target 100 comprising sub-sources 700 facing the window 040.
[0111] FIGS. 20 and 21 illustrate another embodiment of the
invention in which the target 100 comprising a substrate 1000 and a
periodic pattern comprising x-ray sub-sources 700 mounted entirely
within the vacuum chamber 020. As before, this embodiment also
comprises a high voltage source 010, which has a negative terminal
connected through a lead 021-B to an electron emitter 011-B, while
the positive terminal is connected through one or more leads 022 to
the microstructures in the target, allowing them to serve as an
anode.
[0112] However, in this embodiment, the surface of the target 100
comprising the periodic array of x-ray sub-sources 700 comprising
x-ray generating material is oriented such that x-rays produced by
some of the microstructures propagate towards other microstructures
that are also producing x-rays, and a linear accumulation of x-rays
888-B from a plurality of microstructures 700 emerges from the
target. The distance g between the microstructures and
microstructures 700 emerges from the target. The distance g between
the microstructures and the width w.sub.x in the propagation
direction should be small enough such that the emission from the
nth microstructure contributing to the accumulated x-rays can be
considered as a single sub-source with dimension a of Eqn. 9,
i.e.:
a.gtoreq.tan .theta.(n(g+w.sub.x)) [Eqn. 10]
where a is the sub-source dimension that meets the coherence
requirements of the system, and .theta. is one half of the
field-of-view angle for the system.
[0113] Linear accumulation of x-ray sources as used in this
embodiment of the invention is described more fully in the
co-pending U.S. Patent Application entitled X-RAY SOURCES USING
LINEAR ACCUMULATION by the inventors of the present invention (U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 14/490,672 filed Sep. 19, 2014), which
is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Any of the
source designs and configurations disclosed in the above referenced
co-pending Application may be considered for use as a component in
any or all of the interferometric imaging systems disclosed
herein.
[0114] Likewise, FIGS. 22 and 23 illustrate another embodiment of
the invention that utilizes linear accumulation of x-rays. In this
embodiment, the x-ray source 080 includes a target 2200 comprising
a substrate 2210 and a first set of sub-sources 707 and a second
set of sub-sources 708 mounted entirely within the vacuum chamber
020. As before, this embodiment also comprises a high voltage
source 010, but this high voltage source is connected to a junction
010-2 that provides high voltage to two electron emitters 011-D and
011-E through a leads 021-D and 021-E, respectively. As shown in
FIGS. 22 and 23, the first electron emitter 021-D provides an
electron beam 111-D that bombards the first set of sub-sources 707,
while the second electron emitter 021-E provides an electron beam
111-E that bombards the second set of sub-sources 708. Some of the
x-rays 788 generated by the first set of sub-sources 707 and the
second set of sub-sources 708 along the x-ray imaging beam axis
combine to produce x-rays 2888 from the target 2200 will be
augmented by the linear accumulation of x-rays from these two sets
of x-ray sub-sources.
[0115] It will also be known to those skilled in the art that other
embodiments of the invention comprising an x-ray source in which
the target/anode under bombardment by electrons is moved,
translated, or rotated to distribute the heat load are also
possible.
[0116] Note: The illustrations of FIGS. 10 through 23 are not shown
to scale, and are meant to illustrate the principle of the
invention and not specific relationships between the
microstructures 700, the target 100 and the various grating periods
p.sub.1 and p.sub.2. The microstructures 700, 701, 707, 708 etc.
may be on the order of microns in size, while the object under
examination 240-M may be centimeters in size. Likewise, although
these are illustrated in which an object with dimensions on the
order of centimeters (a mouse) is shown, the techniques described
are not limited to such objects, but may be used to examine even
larger structures, or microscopic structures as well, as long as a
suitable resolution for the detector and other elements of the
interferometer are suitably constructed.
2. Fabrication of X-ray Targets
[0117] Targets such as those to be used in x-ray sources according
to the invention disclosed herein have been described in detail in
the co-pending U.S. Patent Application entitled STRUCTURED TARGETS
FOR X-RAY GENERATION by the inventors of the present invention
(U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/465,816, filed Aug. 21, 2014),
which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Any of
the target designs and configurations disclosed in the above
referenced co-pending Application may be considered for use as a
component in any or all of the x-ray sources disclosed herein.
[0118] As described herein and in the above cited pending Patent
Applications, the target used in the source of x-rays may comprise
a periodic array of sub-sources. Each sub-source may be comprised
of a single or multiple microstructures of x-ray generating
material in thermal contact with, or preferably embedded in, a
substrate selected for its thermal conductivity. When the
microstructures are in good thermal contact with a substrate having
a high thermal conductivity, higher electron current densities may
be used to generate x-rays, since the excess heat will be drawn
away into the substrate. The higher current densities will give
rise to higher x-ray flux, leading to a higher brightness source.
As described in the above co-pending patent Applications, sources
with microstructures of x-ray generating material may have a
brightness more than 10 times larger than simpler constructions
made from the same materials. Additional configurations in which
multiple sub-sources are aligned to contribute x-rays on the same
axis can multiply the brightness further through linear
accumulation of the x-ray sub-sources.
[0119] It should also be noted here that, when the word
"microstructure" is used herein, it is specifically referring to
microstructures comprising x-ray generating material. Other
structures, such as the cavities used to form the x-ray
microstructures, have dimensions of the same order of magnitude,
and might also be considered "microstructures". As used herein,
however, other words, such as "structures", "cavities", "holes",
"apertures", etc. may be used for these structures when they are
formed in materials, such as the substrate, that are not selected
for their x-ray generating properties. The word "microstructure"
will be reserved for structures comprising materials selected for
their x-ray generating properties.
[0120] Likewise, it should be noted that, although the word
"microstructure" is used, x-ray generating structures with
dimensions smaller than 1 micron, or even as small as nano-scale
dimensions (i.e. greater than 10 nm) may also be described by the
word "microstructures" as used herein as long as the properties are
consistent with the geometric factors for sub-source size and
grating pitches set forth in the various embodiments.
[0121] It should also be noted that here that, when the word
"sub-source" is used it may refer to a single microstructure of
x-ray generating material, or an ensemble of smaller
microstructures that function similarly to a single structure for
the purposes of Talbot interferometry.
[0122] The fabrication of these microstructured targets may follow
well known processing steps used for the creation of embedded
structures in substrates. If the substrate is a material with high
thermal conductivity such as diamond, conventional lithographic
patterning using photoresists can produce micron sized structures,
which may then be etched into the substrate using processes such as
reactive ion etching (RIE). Deposition of the x-ray generating
material into the etched structures formed in the substrate may
then be carried out using standard deposition processes, such as
electroplating, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), or atomic layer
deposition.
[0123] The x-ray generating material used in the target should
ideally have good thermal properties, such as a high melting point
and high thermal conductivity, in order to allow higher electron
power loading on the source to increase x-ray production. The x-ray
generating material should additionally be selected for good x-ray
production properties, which includes x-ray production efficiency
(proportional to its atomic number) and in some cases, it may be
desirable to produce a specific spectra of interest, such as a
characteristic x-ray spectral line. For these reasons, targets are
often fabricated using tungsten, with an atomic number Z=74.
[0124] Table I lists several materials that are commonly used for
x-ray targets, several additional potential target materials
(notably useful for specific characteristic lines of interest), and
some materials that may be used as substrates for target materials.
Melting points, and thermal and electrical conductivities are
presented for values near 300.degree. K (27.degree. C.). Most
values are cited from the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics,
90.sup.th ed. [CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla., 2009]. Other values are
cited from various sources found on the Internet. Note that, for
some materials, such as sapphire for example, thermal
conductivities an order of magnitude larger may be possible when
cooled to temperatures below that of liquid nitrogen (77.degree. K)
[see, for example, Section 2.1.5, Thermal Properties, of E. R.
Dobrovinskaya et al., Sapphire: Material, Manufacturing,
Applications, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 2009]
[0125] FIG. 24 illustrates a target as may be used in some
embodiments of the invention. In this figure, a substrate 1000 has
a region 1001 that comprises an array of sub-sources 700 comprising
microstructures of x-ray generating material (typically a metallic
material), in which the sub-sources are arranged in a regular array
of right rectangular prisms. In a vacuum, electrons 111 bombard the
target from above, and generate heat and x-rays in the
microstructures 700. The material in the substrate 1000 is selected
such that it has relatively low x-ray production (efficiency is
proportional to atomic number) and energy deposition rate (stopping
power is proportional to density) for electrons in comparison to
the x-ray generating microstructure material, and therefore will
not generate a significant amount of heat and x-rays. This is
typically achieved by selecting a low mass density and low atomic
number (Z) material for the substrate.
[0126] The substrate 1000 material may also be chosen to have a
high thermal conductivity, typically larger than 100 W/(m .degree.
C.), and the microstructures are typically embedded within the
substrate, i.e. if the microstructures are shaped as rectangular
prisms, it is preferred that at least five of the six sides are in
close thermal contact with the substrate 1000, so that heat
generated in the microstructures 700 is effectively conducted away
into the substrate 1000. However, targets used in other embodiments
may have fewer direct contact surfaces. In general, when the term
"embedded" is used in this disclosure, at least
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE I Various Target and Substrate Materials and
Selected Properties. Atomic Melting Thermal Electrical Material
Number Point .degree. C. Conductivity Conductivity (Elemental
Symbol) Z (1 atm) (W/(m .degree. C.)) (MS/m) Common Target
Materials: Chromium (Cr) 24 1907 93.7 7.9 Iron (Fe) 26 1538 80.2
10.0 Cobalt (Co) 27 1495 100 17.9 Copper (Cu) 29 1085 401 58.0
Molybdenum (Mo) 42 2623 138 18.1 Silver (Ag) 47 962 429 61.4
Tungsten (W) 74 3422 174 18.4 Other Possible Target Materials:
Titanium (Ti) 22 1668 21.9 2.6 Gallium (Ga) 35 30 40.6 7.4 Rhodium
(Rh) 45 1964 150 23.3 Indium (In) 49 157 81.6 12.5 Cesium (Cs) 55
28 35.9 4.8 Rhenium (Re) 75 3185 47.9 5.8 Gold (Au) 79 1064 317
44.0 Lead (Pb) 82 327 35.3 4.7 Other Potential Substrate Materials
with low atomic number: Beryllium (Be) 4 1287 200 26.6 Carbon (C):
6 * 2300 10.sup.-19 Diamond Carbon (C): 6 * 1950 0.25 Graphite ||
Carbon (C): 6 * 3180 100.0 Nanotube (SWNT) Carbon (C): 6 * 200
Nanotube (bulk) Boron Nitride (BN) B = 5 ** 20 10.sup.-17 N = 7
Silicon (Si) 14 1414 124 1.56 .times. 10.sup.-9 Silicon Carbide Si
= 14 2798 0.49 10.sup.-9 (.beta.-SiC) C = 6 Sapphire Al = 13 2053
32.5 10.sup.-20 (Al.sub.2O.sub.3) || C O = 8 * Carbon does not melt
at 1 atm; it sublimes at ~3600.degree. C. ** BN does not melt at 1
atm; it sublimes at ~2973.degree. C.
half of the surface area of the microstructure will be in close
thermal contact with the substrate.
[0127] Note that the sub-source sizes and dimensions in some
embodiments may be constrained by the same limitations as the
periodicity p.sub.0 of the grating G.sub.0 in prior art. In other
words, the spatial resolution achievable at the object position in
the x-ray interferometric imaging systems as shown in FIGS. 9
through 23 is determined by the overall x-ray source size and the
detector resolution, similar to the conditions described in the
prior art interferometeric imaging systems, such as the Talbot-Lau
system. Therefore, the maximum x-ray source size (width of each
microstructure spot) is limited for a given detector resolution and
a given imaging geometry as determined by the distance between the
source and object and the distance between the object to the
detector.
[0128] The line-to-space ratio of the arrays of sub-sources is a
design parameter that should be considered in the design of any
system. A large spatial coherence length is inversely proportional
to the size of an x-ray source or sub-source. Because the fringe
visibility of the Talbot interference fringes increases linearly
with the relative ratio of the spatial coherence length of the
illuminating x-ray beam to the period of the beam-splitting grating
p.sub.1 for a value of the ratio from 0.3 to 1, it is generally
preferred to have a small source size. However, the x-ray
production is inversely proportional to the area of the sub-source
(e.g. a reduction in line width will lead to a decrease of x-ray
production). Since the throughput of an imaging system is generally
proportional to square of the contrast transfer function and only
proportional to the x-ray flux, it is generally preferred to have a
line-to-space ration less than 1:1. Some embodiments of the
invention may use a line-to-space (i.e. x-ray generating material
to substrate material) ratio between 1:5 and 1:2 (i.e. the relative
area of the x-ray generating material may range from 20% to
33%).
[0129] A figure of merit (FOM) that may be helpful for the
selection of materials for targets according to this invention is
the ratio of x-rays produced by the microstructures to the x-rays
produced by the electrons also bombarding the substrate. This
figure of merit may be useful for the design of and selection of
materials for the targets for the system, and should be taken into
consideration in addition to the thermal conductivity of the
substrate. As the electron energy deposition rate is proportional
to the mass density and the x-ray production efficiency in a
material is proportional to its atomic number, this figure of merit
may be defined as follows:
FOM = Z 2 .times. .rho. 2 Z 1 .times. .rho. 1 [ Eqn . 11 ]
##EQU00010##
where Z is the atomic number and p is the density, and material 1
is the substrate and material 2 is the x-ray generating
material.
[0130] A number of microstructures and substrate material
combinations are listed below in Table II. Any of the following
combinations may be used, but it is preferable that the materials
are selected such that the FOM is greater than 12, and that the
thermal conductivity of the substrate material is greater than 100
W/(m .degree. C.) at room temperature.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE II Figure of Merit for x-ray
material/substrate combinations. Figure Substrate material
Microstructure material of Merit Material Atomic # Z.sub.1 Mass
density (g/cm.sup.3) Material Atomic # Z.sub.2 Mass density
(g/cm.sup.3) Z 2 .times. .rho. 2 Z 1 .times. .rho. 1 ##EQU00011##
SiC 12.55 3.21 Cu 29 8.96 6 Si 14 2.33 Cu 29 8.96 8 SiC 12.55 3.21
Mo 42 10.2 11 Diamond 6 3.5 Cu 29 8.96 12 Si 14 2.33 Mo 42 10.2 13
Diamond 6 3.5 Mo 42 10.2 21 SiC 12.55 3.21 W 74 19.25 35 Be 4 1.85
Cu 29 8.96 35 Si 14 2.33 W 74 19.25 44 Be 4 1.85 Mo 42 10.2 59
Diamond 6 3.5 W 74 19.25 68 Be 4 1.85 W 74 19.25 193
[0131] FIG. 25 illustrates another target as may be used in some
embodiments of the invention in which the electron beam 111-F is
directed by electrostatic lenses to form a more concentrated,
focused spot. For this situation, the target 1100-F will still
comprise a region 1001-F comprising an array of microstructures
700-F comprising x-ray material, but the size and dimensions of
this region 1001-F can be matched to regions where electron
exposure will occur. In these targets, the "tuning" of the source
geometry and the x-ray generating material can be controlled such
that the designs mostly limit the amount of heat generated to the
micro structured region 1001-F, while also reducing the design and
manufacturing complexity. This may be especially useful when used
with electron beams focused to form a micro-spot, or by more
intricate systems that form a more complex electron exposure
pattern.
[0132] The depth of penetration of electrons into the material can
be estimated by Pott's Law [P. J. Potts, Electron Probe
Microanalysis, Ch. 10 of A Handbook of Silicate Rock Analysis,
Springer Netherlands, 1987, p. 336)], which states that the
penetration depth x in microns is related to the 10% of the value
of the electron energy E.sub.0 in keV raised to the 3/2 power,
divided by the density of the material:
x ( .mu. m ) = 0.1 .times. E 0 1.5 .rho. [ Eqn . 12 ]
##EQU00012##
For less dense material, such as a diamond substrate, the
penetration depth is much larger than for a material with greater
density, such as most materials containing elements used for x-ray
generation.
[0133] Using this formula, Table III illustrates some of the
estimated penetration depths for some common x-ray target
materials.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE III Estimates of penetration depth for 60 keV
electrons into some materials. Density Penetration Depth Material Z
(g/cm.sup.3) (.mu.m) Diamond 6 3.5 13.28 Copper 29 8.96 5.19
Molybdenum 42 10.28 4.52 Tungsten 74 19.25 2.41
[0134] The majority of characteristic Cu K x-rays are generated
within the penetration depth. The electron interactions below that
depth typically generate few characteristic K-line x-rays but will
contribute to the heat generation, thus resulting in a low thermal
gradient along the depth direction. It is therefore preferable in
some embodiments to set a maximum thickness for the microstructures
in the target in order to limit electron interaction in the
material and optimize local thermal gradients. One embodiment of
the invention limits the depth of the micro structured x-ray
generating material in the target to between one third and two
thirds of the electron penetration depth in the substrate at the
incident electron energy. In this case, the lower mass density of
the substrate leads to a lower energy deposition rate in the
substrate material immediately below the x-ray generating material,
which in turn leads to a lower temperature in the substrate
material below. This results in a higher thermal gradient between
the x-ray generating material and the substrate, enhancing heat
transfer. The thermal gradient is further enhanced by the high
thermal conductivity of the substrate material.
[0135] For similar reasons, selecting the thickness of the
microstructures to be less than one half of the electron
penetration depth in the substrate is also generally preferred for
efficient generation of bremsstrahlung radiation, because the
electrons below that depth have lower energy and thus lower x-ray
production efficiency.
[0136] Note: Other choices for the dimensions of the x-ray
generating material may also be used. In targets as used in some
embodiments of the invention, the depth of the x-ray material may
be selected to be 50% of the electron penetration depth in the
substrate. In other embodiments, the depth of the x-ray material
may be selected to be 33% of the electron penetration depth in the
substrate. In other embodiments, the depth for the microstructures
may be selected related to the "continuous slowing down
approximation" (CSDA) range for electrons in the material. Other
depths may be specified depending on the x-ray spectrum desired and
the properties of the selected x-ray material.
[0137] FIG. 26 illustrates a region 1001 of a target as may be used
in some embodiments of the invention that comprises an array of
sub-sources 700 with microstructures in the form of right
rectangular prisms comprising x-ray generating material arranged in
a regular array. FIG. 26A presents a perspective view of the
sixteen microstructures 700 for this target, while FIG. 26B
illustrates a top down view of the same region, and FIG. 26C
presents a side/cross-section view of the same region. (For the
term "side/cross-section view" in this disclosure, the view meant
is one as if a cross-section of the object had been made, and then
viewed from the side towards the cross-sectioned surface. This
shows both detail at the point of the cross-section as well as
material deeper inside that might be seen from the side, assuming
the substrate itself were transparent [which, in the case of
diamond, is generally true for visible light].)
[0138] In these targets, the microstructures have been fabricated
such that they are in close thermal contact on five of six sides
with the substrate. As illustrated, the top of the microstructures
700 are flush with the surface of the substrate, but other targets
in which the microstructure is recessed may be fabricated, and
still other targets in which the microstructures present a
topographical "bump" relative to the surface of the substrate may
also be fabricated.
[0139] An alternative target as may be used in some embodiments of
the invention may have several microstructures of right rectangular
prisms simply deposited upon the surface of the substrate. In this
case, only the bottom base of the prism would be in thermal contact
with the substrate. For a structure comprising the microstructures
embedded in the substrate with a side/cross-section view as shown
in FIG. 26C with depth D.sub.z and lateral dimensions in the plane
of the substrate of W.sub.x and W.sub.y, the ratio of the total
surface area in contact with the substrate for the embedded
microstructures vs. deposited microstructures is
A Embedded A Deposited = 1 + 2 D ( W + L ) ( W .times. L ) [ Eqn .
13 ] ##EQU00013##
With a small value for D relative to W and L, the ratio is
essentially 1. For larger thicknesses, the ratio becomes larger,
and for a cube (D=W=L) in which 5 equal sides are in thermal
contact, the ratio is 5. If a cap layer of a material with similar
properties as the substrate in terms of mass density and thermal
conductivity is used, the ratio may be increased to 6.
[0140] FIG. 27 illustrates a region 1001 of a target as may be used
in some embodiments of the invention, such as that previously
illustrated in FIG. 13, that comprises an array of linear
sub-sources 701 with microstructures in the form of right
rectangular prisms comprising x-ray generating material arranged in
a regular array. FIG. 27A presents a perspective view of the three
microstructures 701 for this target, while FIG. 27B illustrates a
top down view of the same region, and FIG. 27C presents a
side/cross-section view of the same region.
[0141] In this embodiment, the lateral dimensions in the plane of
the substrate are a width and length W.sub.x and L.sub.y. The
effective sub-source size a will correspond to the width
W.sub.x.
[0142] FIGS. 28 and 29 illustrate a practical issue that may arise
in forming the targets such as those illustrated in FIGS. 26 and
27. FIG. 28 illustrates variations possible with the grid of x-ray
generating microstructures 700 as illustrated in FIG. 26, and FIG.
29 illustrates variations possible with the linear x-ray generating
microstructures 701 as illustrated in FIG. 27.
[0143] In FIG. 28, odd-shaped microstructures 700-A of other
geometric shapes may be formed. Likewise, voids 700-O may also
appear where certain structures may be expected. Other deposition
processes, for example deposition using pre-formed particles of
x-ray generating material may create ensemble clusters of particles
700-C that, when bombarded with electrons, may still act as x-ray
sub-sources similar in function to those that are produced by a
uniform structure. Also shown in FIG. 28 is a microstructure with
multiple crystal structures and grain boundaries 700-G that again
may still produce x-rays similar to those that are produced by a
uniform structure, but may be considered to comprise an ensemble of
microstructures.
[0144] The effective x-ray sub-source size in all of these
situations may be approximated using the size parameter a, even
though the microstructures comprise particles that are considerable
smaller.
[0145] In FIG. 29 shows examples of ensemble microstructures as may
occur when fabricating linear microstructures 701. If uniform
pre-fabricated particles of x-ray generating material are created
and coated onto the substrate, an ensemble of particles 703 of
x-ray generating material may be formed. In other processes, if
non-uniform particles are used, clusters of particles 704-A and
704-B may form, in some cases with a non-uniform distribution that
may include gaps of voids. In other processes, an ensemble of
particles 704 of x-ray generating material may approximate a line
source of x-rays.
[0146] All of these ensembles, when bombarded with electrons, may
still act as x-ray sub-sources similar in function to those that
are produced by a uniform linear structure. The effective source
size in these situations may be approximated using the size
parameter a, even though the microstructures comprise particles
that are considerable smaller.
[0147] The heat transfer that may occur under electron bombardment
is illustrated with representative arrows in FIG. 30, in which the
heat generated in sub-sources 700 embedded in a substrate 1000 is
conducted out of the microstructures comprising the sub-sources 700
through the bottom and sides (arrows for transfer through the sides
out of the plane of the drawing are not shown). The amount of heat
transferred per unit time (.DELTA.Q) conducted through a material
of area A and thickness d given by:
.DELTA. Q = .kappa. A .DELTA. T d [ Eqn . 14 ] ##EQU00014##
where .kappa. is the thermal conductivity in W/(m .degree. C.) and
.DELTA.T is the temperature difference across thickness d in
.degree. C. Therefore, an increase in surface area A, a decrease in
thickness d and an increase in .DELTA.T all lead to a proportional
increase in heat transfer.
[0148] An alternative embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 31, in
which the substrate additionally comprises a cooling channel 1200.
Such cooling channels may be a prior art cooling channel, as
discussed above, using water or some other cooling fluid to conduct
heat away from the substrate, or may be fabricated according to a
design adapted to best remove heat from the regions near the
embedded microstructures 700.
[0149] Other target structures for various embodiments may be
understood or devised by those skilled in the art, in which the
substrate may, for example, be bonded to a heat sink, such as a
copper block, for improved thermal transfer. The copper block may
in turn have cooling channels within it to assist in carrying heat
away from the block. Alternatively, the substrate may be attached
to a thermoelectric cooler, in which a voltage is applied to a
specially constructed semiconductor device. In these devices, the
flow of current causes one side to cool while the other heats up.
Commercially available devices, such as Peltier coolers, can
produce a temperature difference of up to 70.degree. C. across the
device, but may be limited in their overall capacity to remove
large amounts of heat from a heat source. Heat pipes containing a
heat transfer fluid that evaporates and condenses, as are used for
cooling CPU chips in server farms when compact design is a
consideration, may also be used to cool the substrate.
[0150] Alternatively, the substrate can be attached to a cryogenic
cooler, such as a block containing channels for the flow of liquid
nitrogen, or be in thermal contact with a reservoir of liquid
nitrogen or some other cryogenic substance, such as an antifreeze
solution, to provide more extreme cooling. When the substrate
comprises a material such as diamond, sapphire, silicon, or silicon
carbide, thermal conductivity generally increases with decreasing
temperature from room temperature. In such a case, designing the
target so that it can withstand cooling to these lower temperatures
may be preferred.
[0151] FIG. 32 illustrates an alternative example of a target that
may be used in embodiments of the invention in which the cavities
formed in the substrate 1000 are first coated with an adhesion
layer 715 (preferably of minimal thickness) before embedding the
x-ray generating material that forms the microstructures 700. Such
an adhesion layer may be appropriate in cases where the bond
between the x-ray material and the substrate material is weak. The
adhesion layer may also act as a buffer layer when the difference
between thermal expansion coefficients for the two materials is
large. For some choices of materials, the adhesion layer may be
replaced or extended (by adding another layer) with a diffusion
barrier layer to prevent the diffusion of material from the
microstructures into the substrate material (or vice versa). For
embodiments in which an adhesion and/or diffusion barrier layer is
used, the selection of materials and thicknesses should consider
the thermal properties of the layer as well, such that heat flow
from the microstructures 700 to the substrate 1000 is not
significantly impeded or insulated by the presence of the adhesion
layer 715.
[0152] FIG. 33 illustrates an alternative example of a target that
may be used in embodiment in which an electrically conducting layer
725 has been added to the surface of the target. When bombarded by
electrons, the excess charge needs a path to return to ground for
the target to function effectively as an anode. If the target as
illustrated in FIG. 26 were to comprise only discrete, unconnected
microstructures 700 within an electrically insulating substrate
material (such as undoped diamond), under continued electron
bombardment, significant charge would build up on the surface. The
electrons from the cathode would then not collide with the target
with the same energy, or might even be repelled, diminishing the
generation of x-rays.
[0153] This can be addressed by the deposition of a thin layer of
conducting material that is preferably of relatively low atomic
number, such as aluminum (Al), beryllium (Be), carbon (C), chromium
(Cr) or titanium (Ti), that allows electrical conduction from the
discrete microstructures 700 to an electrical path 722 that
connects to a positive terminal relative to the high voltage
supply. This terminal as a practical matter is typically the
electrical ground of the system, while the cathode electron source
is supplied with a negative high voltage.
[0154] FIG. 34 illustrates another example of a target that may be
used in embodiment of the invention, in which the sub-sources 702
are embedded deeper, or buried, into the substrate 1000. Such an
embedded microstructure may be further covered by the deposition of
an additional layer 1010, which may be, for example, diamond,
providing the same heat transfer properties as the substrate. This
allows heat to be conducted away from all sides of the buried
sub-source 702. For such a situation and when the additional layer
1010 does not have sufficient electrical conductivity, it is
advisable to provide a path 722 to ground for the electrons
incident on the structure, which may be in the form of a embedded
conducting layer 726 laid down before the deposition of the
additional layer 1010. In some embodiments, this conducting layer
726 will have a "via" 727, or a vertical connection, often in the
form of a pillar or cylinder, that provides an electrically
conducting structure to link the embedded conducting layer 726 to
an additional conducting layer 728 on the surface of the target,
which in turn is connected to the path 722 to ground, or the high
voltage supply.
[0155] FIG. 35 illustrates another example of a target that may be
used in embodiments of the invention, in which the sub-sources 702
are again buried within the substrate. However, in this embodiment,
instead of first providing an electrically conducting layer
followed by the deposition of an additional cap layer, in this
embodiment only a single layer 770 is deposited, selected for a
combination of electrical properties and thermally conducting
properties. This may be, for example, a deposition of carbon
nanotubes (Z=6) oriented vertically relative to the surface, such
that they conduct both heat and electrons away from the buried
microstructures 702. This single layer 770 may in turn be connected
to a path 722 to ground to allow the target to serve as an anode in
the x-ray generation system. Alternatively, the material of the
layer 770 may be selected to comprise aluminum (Al), beryllium
(Be), chromium (Cr), or copper (Cu).
[0156] FIG. 36 illustrates another variation of an embodiment, in
which an additional patterns of blocking material 729 have been
deposited on the backside of the target substrate 1000. If the
figure of merit for the selected material combination, as discussed
above in Table II, is not large, there may still be significant
x-rays generated by the substrate that will reduce contrast in the
image. These substrate-generated x-rays can be blocked by a
deposition of a suitable material, such as gold, as blocking
structures 729. Gold (Z=79) has a strong x-ray absorption, as
illustrated in FIG. 37. Processes to deposit these blocking
structures may comprise standard deposition processes, and an
alignment step may be needed to ensure alignment with the x-ray
generating structures on the opposite side.
[0157] It should be clear to those skilled in the art that although
several embodiments have been presented separately in FIGS. 24-36,
and various processes for their manufacture will be presented
later, the elements of these embodiments may be combined with each
other, or combined with other commonly known target fabrication
methods known in the art. For example, the buried sub-sources 702
of FIG. 35 may also comprise multiple grains of microstructures, as
was illustrated in FIGS. 28 and 29. Likewise, the adhesion layer
715 as illustrated in FIG. 32 may also be applied to fabrication of
embedded sub-sources 700 as shown in FIG. 33. The separation of
these alternatives is for illustration only, and is not meant to be
limiting for any particular process.
[0158] Although the sub-sources illustrated in FIGS. 24-36 have
been shown as regularly spaced patterns with uniform size and
shape, a regular pattern of sub-sources having non-uniform size and
shape, can also be used in some embodiments of the invention.
Additionally, each sub-source within a regular periodic pattern may
further be comprised of multiple smaller microstructures of
non-uniform sizes and shapes. These smaller microstructures may be
non-regular and do not necessarily need to have similar x-ray
emission characteristics or strength, so as long as the larger
sub-sources that each group of microstructures comprise are
periodic in nature.
[0159] Likewise, although some embodiments have been described with
microstructures in, for example, the shape of right rectangular
prisms, fabrication processes may create structures that have walls
at angles other than 90.degree., or do not have corners that are
exactly right angles, but may be rounded or beveled or undercut,
depending on the artifacts of the specific process used.
Embodiments in which the microstructures are essentially similar
with the shapes described herein will be understood by those
skilled in the art to be disclosed, even if process artifacts lead
to some deviation from the shapes as illustrated or described.
[0160] In other embodiments of the system, a periodic attenuating
grating G.sub.0 such as are used in the prior art Talbot-Lau
interferometers may also be used in conjunction with the source of
the invention, so that the x-rays produced by the substrate
material surrounding the sub-sources are further attenuated,
allowing greater monochromaticity and therefore higher spatial
coherence for the source. The apertures of the grating should be
coincident with projections of the microstructured x-ray
sub-sources, or may, in some embodiments, be placed at a Talbot
fractional or integer distance downstream of the source and with
the apertures coincident with the source self-images. It is
preferable that the grating G.sub.0 is of high atomic number and
relatively low aspect ratio, for ease of manufacturability.
3. Fabrication of Gratings
[0161] Fabrication of the gratings used in embodiments of the
invention may be made using known prior art fabrication processes
such as those previously described by Christian David [C. David et
al., "Fabrication of diffraction gratings for hard x-ray phase
contrast imaging", Microelectron. Eng. 84, 1172-1177, 2007].
[0162] Gratings for x-rays may be fabricated using silicon
substrates, with etched changes in topography to induce phase
changes and depositions of a higher Z material, such as gold (Au,
Z=79), to induce absorption changes. The x-ray absorption
properties for gold and silicon are illustrated in FIG. 37.
[0163] As shown in FIG. 38, a periodic pattern 3010 may be etched
into a silicon substrate 3000 to create a structure which
introduces a periodic phase shift for x-rays falling at normal
incidence. The phase shift depends on the etch depth, with a
phase-shift of .pi. radians for normal incidence x-rays achieved
when the following condition is met:
d etch = 1 2 .lamda. n - 1 = 1 2 .lamda. .delta. [ Eqn . 15 ]
##EQU00015##
[0164] Values for .delta. for silicon at several x-ray energies,
along with the depth etched structures need to a phase-shift of
.pi. radians are shown in Table IV.
TABLE-US-00004 TABLE IV Etch depth for Silicon phase shift of .pi.
radians. X-ray Wavelength .pi. phase shift Energy (keV) .lamda.
(nm) .delta. depth (.mu.m) 3.0 0.413 5.43E-05 3.81 5.0 0.248
1.98E-05 6.26 8.048 (Cu K.alpha.) 0.154 7.58E-06 10.17 10.0 0.124
4.89E-06 12.69 17.48 (Mo K.alpha.) 0.0709 1.59E-06 22.36 30.0
0.0413 5.36E-07 38.52 50.0 0.0248 1.93E-07 64.31 59.39 (W K.alpha.)
0.0209 1.37E-07 76.32 100.0 0.0124 4.82E-08 128.74
[0165] A typical grating fabrication process comprises coating a
<110> oriented silicon wafer with a photoresist, and
patterning the resist using conventional photolithography or
electron beam lithography. The silicon then undergoes an etching
process such as wet etching in, for example, a potassium hydroxide
(KOH) solution, or reactive ion etching (RIE), with the etching
selectively occurring only for portions of the silicon not masked
by the resist. The etch depth may be controlled by adjusting the
time of the etch process. Other variations of the etching process
will be known those skilled in the art of semiconductor processing
and manufacturing.
[0166] Absorption gratings such as those used for G.sub.2 may be
fabricated by initially crating a silicon phase grating, as
described above, and then depositing an x-ray absorbing material,
such as gold, into the grooves already patterned in the silicon.
This is illustrated in FIG. 39, in which an amount of x-ray
absorbing material 3030 such as gold has filled the grooves created
in a silicon substrate 3000. One process for the deposition of gold
into the silicon grooves involves a standard electroplating
processes. To ensure that gold is only deposited into the grooves,
a sacrificial layer of aluminum may initially deposited at an
angle, and a seed layer .about.50 nm thick comprising Chromium (Cr)
and gold (Au) are then deposited. A phosphoric acid treatment
removes the all the material deposited on the tops of the silicon
structures, leaving seed material only in the bottom of the grooves
in the silicon. Standard electroplating may follow, with growth of
gold occurring only onto the deposited seed layers. Deposition of
10 to 20 mm of gold can create absorption gratings with a
transmission modulation of 75% or more. Absorption will, however,
depend on the x-ray energy and the absorption coefficient for the
material, as was illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 37. Other methods for
making x-ray absorption gratings will be known to those skilled in
the art.
[0167] For some applications and for certain x-ray wavelengths,
crystal gratings may also be used.
4.0 Detector Properties
[0168] The detector may be any one of a number of detectors used to
form x-ray images. One type of commonly used x-ray detector
comprises a fluorescent screen or scintillator, such as one
comprising a layer of cesium iodide (CsI), thallium doped CsI,
yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG) or gadolinium sulfoxylate (GOS),
that emits visible photons when exposed to x-rays. The visible
photons are then detected by an electronic sensor that converts
visible intensity into electronic signals, often with the
additional formation of a relay image using visible optics that
enlarge and magnify the intensity pattern of the photons emitted by
the fluorescent screen. With the relay optics, the electronic
detector need not comprise a high resolution sensor itself, and
inexpensive commercial CCD detectors or complementary
metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor arrays with, for example,
1024.times.1024 pixels, each 24 .mu.m.times.24 .mu.m square, may be
used.
[0169] Commercial flat panel digital x-ray sensors in which a layer
of scintillator material is placed in close proximity to (or even
coated onto) an array of conventional optical image sensors are
manufactured by, for example, Varian Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif. and
General Electric, Inc. of Billerica, Mass. Other configurations of
image sensors may be known to those skilled in the art. In
embodiments in which a G2 analyzer grating is used, it is
preferable to use highly efficient, fast read-out detectors such as
flat panel detectors, used for medical and industrial uses. For
many applications, a flat panel detector with a resolution larger
than 20 microns will require that an analyzer grating G.sub.2 with
a period equal to the Talbot fringe period to be placed in the
x-ray beam path before the detector.
[0170] A second approach is to use an electronic sensor that
directly creates an electrical signal in response to the absorption
of x-rays, by, for example, the creation of direct electron-hole
pairs in amorphous selenium (a-Se). These are then converted into
electronic signals using an array of thin-film transistors (TFTs).
Such direct flat panel detectors (FPDs) such as the Safire FPD of
Shimadzu Corp. of Kyoto, Japan, are commercially available.
5.0 Variations
[0171] Embodiments may further comprise other components typically
included in Talbot interferometer, including spectral filters to
obtain a desired x-ray energy bandwidth and positioning control
systems for all the various components of the system.
[0172] With this application, several embodiments of the invention,
including the best mode contemplated by the inventors, have been
disclosed. It will be recognized that, while specific embodiments
may be presented, elements discussed in detail only for some
embodiments may also be applied to others.
[0173] While specific materials, designs, configurations and
fabrication steps have been set forth to describe this invention
and the preferred embodiments, such descriptions are not intended
to be limiting. Modifications and changes may be apparent to those
skilled in the art, and it is intended that this invention be
limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *
References