A laboratory based edge-illumination x-ray phase-contrast imaging setup with two-directional sensitivity

We report on a preliminary laboratory based x-ray phase-contrast imaging system capable of achieving two-directional phase sensitivity, thanks to the use of L-shaped apertures. We show that in addition to apparent absorption, two-directional differential phase images of an object can be quantitatively retrieved by using only three input images. We also verify that knowledge of the phase derivatives along both directions allows for straightforward phase integration with no streak artefacts, a known problem common to all differential phase techniques. In addition, an analytical method for 2-directional dark field retrieval is proposed and experimentally demonstrated.