Near‐Field Phase‐Contrast Imaging of Micropores in Silicon Carbide Crystals with Synchrotron Radiation

The results of in-line phase-contrast imaging of micropores in crystals with synchrotron radiation (SR) using an example of silicon carbide (SiC) single crystal are reported. Computer simulations of micropore images have provided a thorough interpretation of specific features of experimental results. Herein, micropores of sizes in the interval from a few micrometers to several tens of micrometers are analyzed. The near-field condition is realized only on a short distance behind the sample for such dimensions. In addition, the size of experimental images is below the resolution limit of the best possible charge-coupled device detectors. Therefore, it is impossible to determine the actual transverse dimensions directly under the near-field experiment. A new experimental setup is proposed that employs a secondary SR source created by a compound refractive lens at the focus. Two conditions have to be satisfied. First, the focus must be located in front of the sample at a short distance. Second, the beam size at the focus has to be as small as possible. The implementation of the new scheme requires a high-intensity synchrotron or X-ray laser beam provided by modern X-ray radiation sources. Computer simulations of a virtual experiment using this new method are performed.