Seminars Archive

X-ray interferometry and its application to high precision measurements in material science and in phase contrast radiography

Abstract
X-ray interferometry, implemented in 1965 by Bonse and Hart, has allowed to evaluate the silicon lattice spacing by comparison with atomic transition wavelengths in the visible regime, the same used to define the meter length. At the same time the wavelength scale has been extended to the X and gamma components of the electromagnetic spectrum. Futhermore with this technique it is possible to obtain phase contrast images of samples placed inside one leg of the interferometer. Since the phase shifts per unit path, in the case of low-Z elements, is much higher than the corresponding intensity variation, this technique results very promising for imaging of biological samples.