Region-of-interest micro-focus computed tomography based on an all-optical inverse Compton scattering source
Yue Ma, Jianfei Hua, Dexiang Liu, Yunxiao He, Tianliang Zhang, Jiucheng Chen, Fan Yang, Xiaonan Ning, Zhongshan Yang, Jie Zhang, Chih‐Hao Pai, Yuqiu Gu, W. Lu
Abstract
Micro-focus computed tomography (CT), which allows the hyperfine structure within objects to be reconstructed, is a powerful nondestructive testing tool in many fields. However, current x-ray sources for micro-focus CT are typically limited by their relatively low photon energy and low flux. An all-optical inverse Compton scattering source (AOCS) based on laser wakefield acceleration can generate intense quasi-monoenergetic x/gamma-ray pulses in the kilo- to megaelectronvolt range with micrometer-level source size, and its potential application for micro-focus CT has become very attractive in recent years because of the rapid progress made in laser wakefield acceleration. Reported here is a successful experimental demonstration of high-fidelity micro-focus CT using an AOCS (∼70 keV) by imaging and reconstructing a test object with complex inner structures. A region-of-interest CT method is adopted to utilize the relatively small field of view of the AOCS to ensure high spatial resolution. This demonstration of AOCS-based region-of-interest micro-focus CT is a key step toward its application in the field of hyperfine nondestructive testing.