Phase Imaging Using A Polychromatic X-ray Laboratory Source

We describe a quantitative phase imaging process using an x-ray laboratory-based source with an extremely broad bandwidth spectrum. The thickness of a homogeneous object can be retrieved by using separately spectrally weighted values for the attenuation coefficient and the decrement of the real part of the refractive index. This method is valid for a wide range of object types, including objects with an absorption edge in the used energy range. The accessibility of conventional x-ray laboratory sources makes this method very useful for quantitative phase retrieval of homogeneous objects. We demonstrate the application of this method for quantitative phase retrieval imaging in tomographic measurements. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America