Quantitative wave-optical numerical analysis of the dark-field signal in grating-based X-ray interferometry

Here we report a full wave-optical numerical simulation framework that quantitatively predicts the outcome of grating-based X-ray dark-field imaging experiments on an ensemble of sub-pixel spherical scatterers. We particularly show how the behavior of the dark-field imaging signal differs from and complements the conventional X-ray transmission imaging signal when certain sample parameters, such as the size, number, and total volume of sub-pixel spherical substructures are changed and compare our findings to previous experiments and theoretical work. We believe that this work represents an important step in further understanding and applying the dark-field signal for future advanced X-ray imaging applications in medicine, materials science, and non-destructive industrial testing.