X-ray phase tomography visualizing three-dimensional phase separation structures

Conventional X-ray imaging techniques that rely on absorption contrast are not usable effectively for polymer samples, which consist of low-Z elements with low X-ray absorbance. This problem can be overcome by using X-ray phase contrast X-ray phase tomography is realized based on the phase-contrast techniques for highly sensitive three-dimensional polymer observation. Applications of X-ray phase tomography to polymer blend samples are demonstrated to reveal phase-separation structures, allowing quantitative analyses. Note that X-ray phase tomography is possible not only with synchrotron radiation but also with a laboratory X-ray source. In combination with an X-ray imaging microscpe, a spatial resolution of a micron has been achieved in three dimensions. In order to approach a time resolution of a second, X-ray phase tomography with white synchrotron radiation is also being developed; that is, four-dimentional phase tomography.