Hussein, A. E., Senabulya, N., Ma, Y. et al. (31 more authors) (2019) Laser-wakefield accelerators for high-resolution X-ray imaging of complex microstructures. Scientific Reports. ISSN 2045-2322
Abstract
Laser-wakefield accelerators (LWFAs) are high acceleration-gradient plasma-based particle accelerators capable of producing ultra-relativistic electron beams. Within the strong focusing fields of the wakefield, accelerated electrons undergo betatron oscillations, emitting a bright pulse of X-rays with a micrometer-scale source size that may be used for imaging applications. Non-destructive X-ray phase contrast imaging and tomography of heterogeneous materials can provide insight into their processing, structure, and performance. To demonstrate the imaging capability of X-rays from an LWFA, we have examined an irregular eutectic in the aluminum-silicon (Al-Si) system. The lamellar spacing of the Al-Si eutectic microstructure is on the order of a few micrometers, thus requiring high spatial resolution. We present comparisons between the sharpness and spatial resolution in phase contrast images of this eutectic alloy obtained via X-ray phase contrast imaging at the Swiss Light Source (SLS) synchrotron and X-ray projection microscopy via an LWFA source. An upper bound on the resolving power of 2.7 ± 0.3 µm of the LWFA source in this experiment was measured. These results indicate that betatron X-rays from LWFA can provide an alternative to conventional synchrotron sources for high resolution imaging of eutectics and, more broadly, complex microstructures.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2019. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Physics (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 12 Mar 2019 16:40 |
Last Modified: | 16 Oct 2024 15:28 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-39845-4 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41598-019-39845-4 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:143587 |