Six-dimensional real and reciprocal space small-angle X-ray scattering tomography

Florian Schaff, Martin Bech, Paul Zaslansky, Christoph Jud, Marianne Liebi, Manuel Guizar-Sicairos, Franz Pfeiffer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

145 Scopus citations

Abstract

When used in combination with raster scanning, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) has proven to be a valuable imaging technique of the nanoscale, for example of bone, teeth and brain matter. Although two-dimensional projection imaging has been used to characterize various materials successfully, its three-dimensional extension, SAXS computed tomography, poses substantial challenges, which have yet to be overcome. Previous work using SAXS computed tomography was unable to preserve oriented SAXS signals during reconstruction. Here we present a solution to this problem and obtain a complete SAXS computed tomography, which preserves oriented scattering information. By introducing virtual tomography axes, we take advantage of the two-dimensional SAXS information recorded on an area detector and use it to reconstruct the full three-dimensional scattering distribution in reciprocal space for each voxel of the three-dimensional object in real space. The presented method could be of interest for a combined six-dimensional real and reciprocal space characterization of mesoscopic materials with hierarchically structured features with length scales ranging from a few nanometres to a few millimetres - for example, biomaterials such as bone or teeth, or functional materials such as fuel-cell or battery components.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)353-356
Number of pages4
JournalNature
Volume527
Issue number7578
DOIs
StatePublished - 19 Nov 2015

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Six-dimensional real and reciprocal space small-angle X-ray scattering tomography'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this