Quantitative elemental sensitive imaging based on K-edge subtraction tomography

BackgroundK-edge subtraction (KES) tomography has been extensively utilized in the field of elemental sensitive imaging due to its high spatial resolution, rapid acquisition, and three-dimensional (3D) imaging capabilities. However, previous studies have primarily focused on the qualitative analysis of element contents, rather than quantitative assessment.ObjectiveThe current study proposes a novel method for quantitative elemental analysis based on K-edge subtraction tomography.MethodsThe linear correlation between the slice grayscale of standard samples and the difference in their linear absorption coefficients is confirmed. This finding suggests that the grayscale data from slices may be employed to perform quantitative estimations of elemental compositions.ResultsIn order to verify the accuracy and validity of this method, the target element contents in standard and actual samples are quantitatively analyzed, respectively. The results demonstrate that the method is capable of achieving nanometer-resolved quantitative elemental sensitive imaging with a relative error of less than 3% in the target elemental content.ConclusionsThe method described in this paper is expected to expand the scope of applications for K-edge subtraction tomography and provide a novel approach to achieve more precise and convenient quantitative elemental analysis.