Hard X-Ray Phase-Contrast Laboratory Microscope Based on Three-Block Fresnel Zone Plate Interferometer

Abstract

A device based on a three-block Fresnel zone plate interferometer is proposed for hard X‑ray phase-contrast imaging. The device combines a low requirement for the coherence of the initial radiation (the interferometer operates in the amplitude division mode) with an optical magnification of the image. A numerical simulation of the image formation is carried out, taking into account the limited source–interferometer distance, the size and spectral width of the X-ray source. The calculations show that the proposed set-up can be used as a phase-contrast microscope using laboratory hard X-ray sources.