Speaker
Description
In this contribution, we demonstrate a rather unusual application of X-ray diffraction (XRD) for the analysis of biological samples. We show that muscle, fat, tendon, and bone tissues produce distinct XRD patterns. It is further demonstrated that even thick, complex biological structures, such as a chicken wing, can be scanned using this technique. These measurements are enabled by fully spectroscopic photon counting imaging detectors of the Timepix3 type.
The analytical XRD technique is well established for the investigation of crystalline properties of various materials. This method is based on the measurement of a diffraction pattern produced by a collimated X-ray beam penetrating a sample with a crystalline microstructure. The recorded diffraction pattern is material specific and characteristic.
Conventional X-ray tube based XRD systems employ relatively low energy, monochromatic X-ray beams (5–20 keV), which can penetrate only shallow layers near the sample surface. As a result, thick samples cannot be analyzed throughout their entire volume.
Fully spectroscopic photon counting imaging detectors of the Timepix3 type enable the use of a polychromatic, high energy X-ray beam for XRD measurements. Exploiting the full spectrum produced by an X-ray tube significantly increases the beam intensity and reduces the measurement time by up to two orders of magnitude. The high measurement speed allows scanning over large sample areas.
X-ray diffraction analysis is widely used for the investigation of minerals, ceramics, powders, pigments, and alloys. It provides information on crystalline composition, grain size, grain orientation, and texture, and can also be used for internal strain measurements.