Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Fakultät für Physik, 85748, Garching, Germany.
Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, 85748, Garching, Germany.
Nat Commun. 2020 Dec 2;11(1):6174. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19838-y.
Radiographic imaging with x-rays and protons is an omnipresent tool in basic research and applications in industry, material science and medical diagnostics. The information contained in both modalities can often be valuable in principle, but difficult to access simultaneously. Laser-driven solid-density plasma-sources deliver both kinds of radiation, but mostly single modalities have been explored for applications. Their potential for bi-modal radiographic imaging has never been fully realized, due to problems in generating appropriate sources and separating image modalities. Here, we report on the generation of proton and x-ray micro-sources in laser-plasma interactions of the focused Texas Petawatt laser with solid-density, micrometer-sized tungsten needles. We apply them for bi-modal radiographic imaging of biological and technological objects in a single laser shot. Thereby, advantages of laser-driven sources could be enriched beyond their small footprint by embracing their additional unique properties, including the spectral bandwidth, small source size and multi-mode emission.
X 射线和质子的放射成像在基础研究和工业、材料科学以及医学诊断学的应用中无处不在。这两种模式所包含的信息原则上通常都很有价值，但很难同时获取。激光驱动的固体密度等离子体源可以提供这两种辐射，但在应用中主要探索了单一模式。由于难以产生合适的源并分离图像模式，它们在双模式放射成像中的潜力从未得到充分实现。在这里，我们报告了在使用聚焦的德克萨斯拍瓦激光与固体密度、微米级钨针的激光等离子体相互作用中产生质子和 X 射线微源。我们将它们应用于单次激光射击中对生物和技术物体的双模式放射成像。通过利用其额外的独特特性，包括光谱带宽、小源尺寸和多模发射，激光驱动源的优势可以得到丰富，而不仅仅是它们的占地面积小。
