How did you get started with your research into X-ray fluorescence chemical mapping and ghost imaging? The demonstration and application of quantum effects and effects inspired by quantum mechanics is the primary focus of Shwartz's work with x-rays.

The objective of my very first research project was to use x-rays to demonstrate the lens-free technique of computational ghost imaging, also known as CGI.

Therefore, it was only natural to connect computer-generated imagery and x-ray fluorescence.

What exactly is X-ray fluorescence, and how is it put to use in a variety of different contexts?

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a powerful method for identifying and mapping the chemical compositions of samples, and xrf analyzer has intriguing applications that are exploited in a wide range of fields, including fundamental science, industry, and cultural heritage. XRF can identify and map the chemical compositions of samples.

Materials science, electrochemistry, biology, paleontology, and archaeology are some examples of scientific fields in which XRF plays a significant role. Analyzers for small parts, such as those produced by the automotive and aerospace industries, are one example of an application with a focus on the industrial sector.

The X-ray fluorescence (XRF) method has a straightforward working principle that is founded on the x-ray fluorescence process. In this method, x-ray radiation is used to excite core electrons in the sample being analyzed. Outer electrons can fill the holes, leading to the emission of x-ray radiation at photon energies that correspond to the characteristic atomic lines. Alternatively, the electrons can return to their ground state. The detection X-ray fluorescence spectrometer can be carried out with energy-resolving detectors that are easy to use and readily available components that have an adequate level of energy resolution.

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) can be simplified to its most basic form, in which it does not provide any spatial information. This is because the detector collects radiation from large areas. Because only a small section of the sample is irradiated at each measurement point, the resolution of this method is dependent on the size of the spot produced by the input beam. As a result, the spatial information can be reconstructed using this method. Computed tomography and confocal x-ray microscopy are two methods that can be used to extend observations into the third dimension.

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a technique that has seen a lot of success and is utilized by a lot of people, but it still has to contend with two significant obstacles, both of which hinder its performance and prevent it from being applied to more fields:

Because it is difficult to focus x-ray radiation, particularly at high photon energies, the ability to use small spot sizes across a broad photon energy range is one that can only be found in a very small number of synchrotron beamlines and x-ray free electron lasers.

Raster scanning is used in virtually every application of micro-XRF that is put into practical use. This is how spatial information is obtained. Due to the fact that the scan is performed over every point on the sample, this is a very slow process.

Are you able to elaborate on the processes that go into computational ghost imaging?

In ghost imaging, the xrf analyzer of reconstructing an image requires the use of two different sets of data.

In the research that we conducted, the intensity variations were generated by standard sandpaper that was mounted on motorized stages and were captured using a slow two-dimensional camera. Random intensity fluctuations are caused by the fact that the beam strikes a new region of the sandpaper at each position of the stages. This is because the sandpaper contains a variety of random landscapes, X-ray fluorescence spectrometer each of which has a unique transmission.

After that, we scanned the stages in order to irradiate the object with the intensity fluctuation patterns that were introduced at the various positions of the sandpaper. After that, we utilized the energy detector in order to measure the radiation that was emitted from the object.

We were able to obtain accurate readings for the total emission from each element by first precisely defining the energy range associated with the iron and cobalt emission lines. This second set of data, which we will refer to as the "test," includes information on the object; however, because it only contains a single number for each element and measurement, it does not provide enough data for the 2D image reconstruction.

Through the  of correlating the two different sets of data for each position of the object, the image can be reconstructed. We produced the chemical mapping by independently reconstructing each element and then combining the results of those reconstructions.

You and your team have developed a focus-free technique that makes use of ghost imaging to accelerate X-ray fluorescence chemical mapping. Are you able to share more information about this method with the readers?

Imaging with x-rays requires a system that can resolve the spatial distribution of the radiation that is transmitted by the object and collected by the detector. This is a prerequisite for the process in general. The image is reconstructed using the detector's measured intensity distribution as the primary source of information. Emitted radiation, on the other hand, scatters in all directions, which means that the image that is captured by the camera will be completely blurry. This is in contrast to the relatively parallel propagation of x-ray transmitted radiation.

Using the ghost imaging method, we have demonstrated that the spatial resolution is determined by the feature size of the intensity fluctuations of the irradiating beam. This was accomplished through the work that we have presented here, in which we showed how to overcome this challenge.

What are the primary advantages that your new method provides, and how might it be implemented in the real world? Measurements using x-ray chemical mapping have, up until this point, been restricted to applications in which the length of time required for the measurement was not particularly important.

Dealing with noises on the system was one of the aspects of my job that I found to be one of the most difficult. Iron was one of the elements that we imaged. Iron is found in almost every component of the system, including screws and holders, so it was one of the elements that we imaged. In addition, there are some overlaps that occur between the various photon energies that are emitted from the object, both between the photon energies that are emitted from the object themselves and with the photon energies that are present in the input beam. Finally, after measuring the noise and normalizing the result, we apply a filter to remove any unwanted noise. We took great care in selecting the spectral regions in which the noise is less prominent.

Our method has the potential to serve as the basis for the development of medical x-ray imaging systems that have both high contrast and high resolution. The main difficulty in x-ray medical imaging is the low contrast that exists between the different types of tissues. Using our method makes it possible to obtain colored x-ray medical images, which enables a distinction to be made between different types of tissues based not only on their varying degrees of absorption but also on the components that compose them.

In what ways do you envision X-ray fluorescence evolving in the years to come?

It is my expectation that the CGI method will be incorporated into a wide variety of XRF applications.

What are the following steps that need to be taken for the project?

We have some ideas about how the future should unfold. To begin, we want to demonstrate the effect at much higher photon energies, which presents an even greater challenge when it comes to focusing.