Propagation based differential phase contrast imaging and tomography of murine tissue with a laser plasma x-ray source

An ultrafast, laser-driven x-ray source with a liquid mercury target has been used for phase contrast imaging of an excised murine liver and for computed tomography of an electronic component. The x-ray spectrum emitted at 5 kHz repetition rate is found to be similar to that of a 2.5 W, 30 kV microfocus x-ray tube with a tungsten anode. The images of the excised liver show the venous network with approximately 20 μm spatial resolution. Phase contrast features in the tomographic images of the electronic component, transferred to the orthogonal cross sections upon reconstruction, show the internal components of the device with high contrast. Adequate signal-to-noise ratios in the images were achieved with exposure times between 1 and 3 min.