SBIR Phase I: 3D Correlative CT/XRF Microscopy with Sub-micron Resolution and PPM Elemental Sensitivity

这个小型企业创新研究计划(SBIR)第一阶段项目旨在开发一种相关的X射线成像和分析显微镜技术，该显微镜能够产生样品的亚微米分辨率的三维图像，然后选择性地探测该体积的点或区域，以获取元素(化学)信息。虽然商业解决方案(X射线微层析成像)已经存在，可以获得高分辨率的3-D图像，但这些图像只显示了样品的灰度质量密度表示。目前还没有关于样品是由哪些化合物和元素组成的信息。研究的重点是展示将X射线荧光能力添加到X射线成像以明确识别具有极高最终灵敏度(百万分之几)的元素组成的能力，重点是将元素测量与样品的三维X射线图像中的位置精确地关联起来。在学术研究领域和用于有针对性的工业用途方面，对这种补充能力的需求日益增长。该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是能够为自然资源部门开发更节能和环境友好的提取和加工技术。第一批客户来自矿业研发和工业市场，通过提供相关样本和帮助定义最终的系统需求和规格，直接为研究做出贡献。这些客户在过去几年中非常迅速地采用了高分辨率X射线成像，实现了在提取和提纯贵重物品的过程中在不同阶段对矿石样品进行成像的固有优势。虽然这种能力已经有助于开发更好、更有效的提取过程，但获得元素和化学信息的分析能力正在成为继续取得进展的关键。新技术的可获得性的明显好处将是通过提高效率来节省提取过程中的能源，并通过不让贵重物品进入废物流来更好地利用现有资源。其间接后果是，从长远来看，这将导致大宗商品价格下降，生活水平普遍提高。但这项研究的相关性进一步延伸到生命科学、材料科学以及所有需要成像和分析能力的领域。

This Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) Phase I project aims at developing the technology for a correlative x-ray imaging and analytical microscope that is able to produce 3-dimensional images with sub-micrometer resolution of samples and subsequently probe points or areas of this volume selectively for elemental (chemical) information. While commercial solutions (x-ray micro-tomography) already exist to obtain the high resolution 3-D images, these images only show a grey-scale mass density representation of the sample. No information about which compounds and elements the sample is made out of is available. The research focuses on demonstrating the ability to add an x-ray fluorescence capability to the x-ray imaging to unambiguously identify the elemental makeup with very high ultimate sensitivity (parts per million) with a focus on correlating exactly the elemental measurement with the location in the 3-D x-ray image of the sample. There is a growing need for this complementary capability both in the academic research area and in industrial use for targeted applications.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to enable the development of more energy efficient and environmentally friendly extraction and processing techniques for the natural resource sector. The first set of customers, directly contributing to the research by providing relevant samples and helping in defining the ultimate system requirements and specifications, come from the mining R&D and industrial market segment. These customers have adopted high-resolution x-ray imaging very rapidly in the past few years, realizing the inherent advantage of imaging ore samples at various stages during the process of extracting and purifying the valuables. While this capability is already helping to develop better, more efficient extraction processes, an analytical capability to get elemental and chemical information is becoming essential for continued progress. Obvious benefits from the availability of the new technology will be energy savings in the extraction processes by increasing efficiency and better use of available resources by not allowing valuables to enter the waste stream. As an indirect consequence, this leads long term to lower commodity prices and a general higher living standard. But the relevance of the research extends much further into areas of life science, material science and all areas requiring imaging and analytical capabilities.