Synchrotron-based radioscopy with spatio-temporal micro-resolution using hard X-rays

The use of highly intense synchrotron light sources allows the next step in the fast imaging development: the use of hard X-rays. Micro-radiography as an established method to image the internal structure of an object with micrometer resolution can be extended to study its temporal evolution as well. While direct converting pixel detectors are known which can acquire images with high frame rates here detectors are needed with higher spatial resolution which can stand the highly intense synchrotron photon flux. Our approach is based on indirect pixel detectors which are already known for micro-imaging at synchrotron light sources. We combine those with CMOS cameras in order to achieve frame rates of up to 40 000 images per second, thus progressing to micro-radioscopy. Potential applications are studies of living insects with moderate frame rates up to 250 images per second (4 ms exposure time), velocity fields within a semi-solid alloy during a thixo-casting process and ruptures of individual cell walls in a liquid metal foam imaged with up to 40 000 frames per second (25 μs exposure time).