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US 9,407,836 B2Granted
Electronic x-ray camera with spectral resolution
AssigneesPNSensor GmbH, IFG-Institute for Scientific Instruments GmbH
InventorsNorbert Langhoff, Aniouar Bjeoumikhov, Heike Soltau, Robert Hartmann
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An X-ray camera includes a camera housing, an image pickup element which is sensitive at least for X-rays, and an X-ray objective. The X-ray objective lens has a capillary structure and the image pickup element is constructed as a two-dimensional pixilated semiconductor sensor for simultaneous spatial, energy and time resolution.
Claims23
An x-ray color camera comprising:
- a camera housing;
- an image pickup element arranged in said camera housing;
- said image pickup element having a plurality of image pixel sensors and being sensitive to low-energy x-ray radiation;
- said image pickup element being a pn-CCD arrangement and being configured as a two-dimensional pixilated semiconductor sensor;
- an objective housing being detachably connected with said camera housing;
- said camera housing and said objective housing being gas-tight;
- a capillary structure being arranged in said objective housing;
- said objective housing and said capillary structure forming an x-ray objective;
- said capillary structure being made of glass and being configured to reflect the low-energy x-ray radiation as the low-energy x-ray radiation passes through the capillary structure to be detected by the image pickup element;
- said capillary structure being configured as one of a parallel imaging poly-capillary structure, a magnifying imaging poly-capillary structure, and a reducing imaging poly-capillary structure;
- said image pickup element and said capillary structure being configured to conjointly generate a spectrally-resolved multi-colored digital x-ray image of an entire sample having spatial and spectral resolution by simultaneously recording, at each of the plurality of image pixel sensors, a spectrum of the low-energy x-ray radiation of the entire sample that passes through the capillary structure of said x-ray objective;
- and,
- wherein each of the plurality of image pixel sensors is configured to capture single x-ray photons, to determine a number of captured single x-ray photons, to determine a photon energy and a wavelength of each single x-ray photon thereby simultaneously determining the spectrum of the low-energy x-ray radiation.
10 more elements
A method comprising:
- arranging an image pickup element in a camera housing;
- said image pickup element having a plurality of image pixel sensors and being sensitive to low-energy x-ray radiation;
- arranging a capillary structure in an objective housing;
- said objective housing and said capillary structure forming an x-ray objective;
- said objective housing being detachably connected with said camera housing;
- said camera housing and said objective housing being gas-tight;
- conjointly generating, by the image pickup element and the capillary structure, a spectrally-resolved multi-colored digital x-ray image of an entire sample having spatial and spectral resolution by:
- passing a low-energy x-ray radiation through the capillary structure;
- simultaneously recording at each of the plurality of image pixel sensors a spectrum of the low-energy x-ray radiation of the entire sample that passes through the capillary structure of said x-ray objective;
- and,
- at each of the plurality of image pixel sensors, capturing single x-ray photons, determining a number of captured single x-ray photons, determining a photon energy and a wavelength of each single x-ray photon thereby simultaneously determining the spectrum of the low-energy x-ray radiation.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.