Opportunities in 3D and 4D Imaging with Laboratory X-Ray Microscopy

In recent years, X-ray microscopy (XRM) has grown out of origins at synchrotron facilities and has set new benchmarks in high resolution, nondestructive 3D characterization. With the 3rd and now 4th generation synchrotrons, and accompanied by exponential improvements in both processing power and beam quality, recent progress at these tomography beamlines has been made possible. Furthermore, an expansion in the variety of imaging/spectroscopy modalities has created increasingly rich and descriptive data sets with newly integrated correlative imaging workflows.

Many of these techniques have also translated to a broader community via analogous lab-based machines. Through incorporating synchrotron-style optics, lab-based XRM systems can now achieve comparable levels of resolution and contrast, moving CT beyond an inspection/NDT technique and well into the scientific realm. Also similarly to the synchrotron, in situ imaging in the lab has become more prevalent as well, albeit at a different time scale. It has been demonstrated now that, for some specific experiments, lab systems can actually be more suitable Lastly, the classical absorption tomography of CT or microCT is being supplemented with an increasing range of modalities available on lab XRM systems, most notably and recently that of diffraction contrast tomography (DCT).

This presentation will explore these emerging laboratory-based methods, namely in situ and diffraction contrast tomography, and provide examples of their application in materials science along with an expansion of the classic “single-instrument” microscopy to correlative approaches making the link between XRM and 3D SEM.

Key Learnings:

• Learn what differentiates X-ray microscopy from other 3D X-ray imaging techniques
• Discover new opportunities to study material’s microstructure with unique imaging modalities
• Expand your horizon with our correlative microscopy capabilities