Fluorescent X-Ray Imaging With Pinhole Camera

Pinhole camera is one of X-ray optics devices. The pinhole camera is used for obtaining the image of synchrotron and laboratory sources, and also as a lens in a method of X-ray fluorescent microscopy. This method allows to obtain information on a spatial distribution of various chemical elements to the areas of several square centimeters with spatial resolution at the level of 50-100 mu m. As a rule energy-dispersive two-dimensional CCD cameras are used for imaging. Such cameras are expensive devices and have low sensitivity for X-rays with energy of photons higher than 8 keV. Therefore it is perspective to use for X-ray fluorescent microscopy more effective CCD cameras with a scintillator layer. The purpose of this work consists in development of the device for imaging with secondary fluorescent X-rays by using pinhole as a lens and CCD camera for registration of the X-ray image. The device for obtaining the image of objects in secondary X-rays is developed. The device consists of an X-ray tube, pinhole and CCD camera. The object of research was irradiated with radiation from the X-ray tube and emits secondary X-rays. 100-microns pinhole was used for formation of the image of the object at an entrance window of the CCD camera. Images of a number of the iron springs differing in the sizes are received. It is established that the spatial resolution of the device is about 200 mu m at an exposition of 60 s. It is possible to improve permission of the device by increasing in an exposition, optimization imaging conditions and reduction of the pinhole size.