µTomo beamline

The experimental X-ray micro-tomography station fully exploits the pseudo-coherence, monochromaticity and energy tuneability characteristics of the STAR source. In particular:

1) The coherence of the X-beam makes phase contrast imaging (PHC) possible unlike using traditional sources;

2) The energy tunability of X-rays allows the acquisition of three-dimensional absorption maps chemically solved impossible with traditional sources and makes the quantitative analysis of densities much more effective;

3) The extension of the energy range allows to go beyond the limits in terms of penetrating power obtained with synchrotron sources (see Elettra) or to obtain equal performances with much lower costs (see ESFR); therefore PHC, microtomography and element maps acquisition can be extended to high density inorganic materials with similar or better performances than those achieved in traditional light facilities.

The application of phase contrast X-ray tomography is of growing interest due to the potential of this innovative technique in various fields of interest where high resolution, high contrast, low radiation doses and fast data acquisition are required.

The characteristics of the radiation produced (pseudo coherence, monochromaticity, tunability and wide energy range) make the STAR source the ideal tool to cover the gap between large facilities and X-ray tubes used in hospitals and industry and to use the latest technological innovations in the field of phase contrast imaging methods.

Third generation synchrotron radiation sources (ESRF, Elettra) have high quality and high brightness beams but are too expensive and incompatible with the clinical environment in the sense that it is complex to bring the patient into these facilities. On the other hand, compact radiation sources (STAR type) not only have the right technical characteristics (a certain degree of spatial and temporal coherence, a wide enough field of view to study large samples, high resolution and high sensitivity) but given their relatively low cost and small size they could easily be housed in a hospital facility.

References

• Bukreeva I., Mittone A., Bravin A., Festa G., Alessandrelli M., Coan P., Formoso V., Agostino R.G., Giocondo M., Ciuchi F., Fratini M., Massimi L., Lamarra A., Andreani C., Bartolino R., Gigli G., Ranocchia G., Cedola A., Virtual unrolling and deciphering of Herculaneum papyri by X-ray phase-contrast tomography, Scientific Reports, Vol. 6, , (2016), pg. - , DOI: 10.1038/srep27227

• Agostino R.G., Donato S., Caruso T., Colavita E., Zanini F., D'Alessio A., Pisarra D., Taliano Grasso A., Microtomographic studies as a tool in the identification of a new ceramic class: The metal-imitating pottery as grave goods among Brettians and Lucanians, Microchemical Journal, Vol. 126, , (2016), pg. 138-148, DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2015.12.007

• Romina Conte, Raffaele Filosa, Vincenzo Formoso, Francesco Gagliardi, Raffaele G. Agostino, and Giuseppina Ambrogio, Analysis of extruded pins manufactured by friction stir forming for multi-material joining purposes, AIP Conference Proceedings 2113, 050026 (2019); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5112590