From optical to X-ray ghost imaging
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Smith, Thomas A., Yanhua Shih, Zhehui Wang, et al. “From Optical to X-Ray Ghost Imaging.” Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment 935 (August 2019): 173–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2019.05.027.
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This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
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Abstract
Recent advances in ghost imaging techniques and X-ray sources such as synchrotrons and, more recently, X-ray free-electron lasers (XFEL) have made X-ray ghost imaging a growing topic of interest. One specific type of ghost imaging utilizes thermal radiation and the measurement of intensity fluctuation correlation to form a true image without the need of a lens. This technique allows for much higher resolution than traditional X-ray imaging for a mesoscopic or even a microscopic object. In addition to this benefit of not requiring a lens, a surprising experiment has shown that, when set up correctly, this type of ghost imaging can provide clear images through the measurement of intensity fluctuation correlation when traditional images through measurements of intensity are blurred due to optical turbulence and vibrations. This turbulence-free technique will help maintain the high resolution of X-ray ghost imaging. How is an image formed from fluctuations in light? And what makes it turbulence-free? Using the concept of two-photon interference, this article provides an introduction to these fundamentally interesting concepts and X-ray ghost imaging.