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Because the refractive index for hard x rays is slightly different from unity, the optical phase of a beam is affected by transmission through an object. Phase images can be obtained with extreme instrumental simplicity by simple propagation provided the beam is coherent. But, unlike absorption, the phase is not simply related to image brightness. A holographic reconstruction procedure combining images taken at different distances from the specimen was developed. It results in quantitative phase mapping and, through association with three-dimensional reconstruction, in holotomography, the complete three-dimensional mapping of the density in a sample. This tool in the characterization of materials at the micrometer scale is uniquely suited to samples with low absorption contrast and radiation-sensitive systems.
Cloetens et al. (Mon,) studied this question.