Submicron tomography using high energy synchrotron radiation

Abstract

Development of synchrotron tomography at the end of the 20th century and the following improvements in radiation source, X-ray detectors as well as X-ray optics boosted the application of the tomographic technique in materials science. It became possible for the first time to reveal the three dimensional structure of heterogeneous materials with sub-micrometer spatial resolution, the length scale where the basic mechanisms of plastic deformation and damage are taking place and determine the macroscopic behavior of engineering components. The present chapter introduces the basic features of the tomographic method developed at synchrotron sources, related mainly to the high flux and lateral coherence of the beam. These allow performing high resolution tomographic scans within a reasonable time, but also to use the optical phase of the transmitted X-ray beam to increase the sensitivity by revealing the spatial distribution of electron density. After the introduction of the technique several application examples in the field of materials science are presented. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011.