NE Seminar: “Gratings-based Phase Contrast X-ray Imaging for Security Screening”

Details

Erin Miller, Ph.D.

Physicist
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Abstract

X-ray imaging is widely used for determining the internal structure of otherwise inaccessible regions, whether a suitcase at the airport or a bone in your leg. While the structure is accessible, only limited information can be inferred about the materials.

Phase contrast x-ray imaging is a relatively new technique that provides three physical signatures simultaneously: absorption, as in conventional imaging, is strongly dependent on atomic number; refraction, which is sensitive to gradients in electron density; and scatter, which is sensitive to texture below the imaging resolution.

This talk will discuss the journey from understanding the physics of phase contrast, to system design and materials signatures studies, to, finally, developing a prototype system for security screening.