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A universal moiré effect and application in X-ray phase-contrast imaging
Nature Physicsvolume 12, pages830–834 (2016)Cite this article
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Abstract
A moiré pattern results from superimposing two black-and-white or greyscale patterns of regular geometry, such as two sets of evenly spaced lines. Here, we report the observation of an analogous effect with two transparent phase masks put in a light beam. The phase moiré effect and the classic moiré effect are shown to be the two ends of a continuous spectrum. The former allows the detection of sub-resolution intensity or phase patterns with a transparent screen. When applied to X-ray imaging, it enables the realization of a polychromatic far-field interferometer (PFI) without the need for absorption gratings. X-ray interferometry can non-invasively detect refractive index variations inside an object1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Current bench-top interferometers operate in the near field with limitations in sensitivity and X-ray dose efficiency2,5,7,8,9,10. The universal moiré effect helps overcome these limitations and obviates the need for using hard X-ray absorption gratings with sub-micrometre periods.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to G. Melvin and D. Mazilu for mechanical design and machining, to M. Rivers, Department of Geophysical Sciences and Center for Advanced Radiation Sources, University of Chicago, for his help with the instrument control software. We thank R. Kasica and L. Yu of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology, for their assistance with fabrication.
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Authors and Affiliations
Biophysics and Biochemistry Center, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
Houxun Miao, Alireza Panna, Eric E. Bennett, Sami Znati & Han Wen
Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107, USA
Andrew A. Gomella
Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
Lei Chen
- Houxun Miao
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
- Alireza Panna
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- Andrew A. Gomella
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- Eric E. Bennett
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- Sami Znati
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- Lei Chen
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- Han Wen
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Contributions
H.M., A.P. and H.W. performed the experiments. H.M., L.C. and S.Z. performed fabrication. A.A.G., A.P., E.E.B., H.M. and H.W. built the systems. H.W. and H.M. performed the theoretical modelling and numerical calculations. H.W. and H.M. wrote the manuscript with input from all authors.
Corresponding authors
Correspondence toHouxun Miao orHan Wen.
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The authors declare no competing financial interests.
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Miao, H., Panna, A., Gomella, A.et al. A universal moiré effect and application in X-ray phase-contrast imaging.Nature Phys12, 830–834 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys3734
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