Phase retrieval for hard X-ray computed tomography of samples with hybrid compositions.

X-ray tomography of samples containing both weakly and strongly absorbing materials are necessary in material and biomedical imaging. Extending the validity of the phase-attenuation duality (PAD) method, the propagation-based phase-contrast computed tomography (PPCT) of a sample with hybrid compositions of both the light and dense components with 60 keV of synchrotron radiation is investigated. The experimental results show that the PAD-based PPCT is effective in imaging both the weakly and strongly absorbing components simultaneously. Compared with the direct PPCT technique, the PAD-based PPCT technique demonstrates its excellent capability in material discrimination and characterization. In addition, the PAD-based PPCT exhibits a striking performance on the image contrast enhancement and noise suppression. Therefore, this technique is useful for material and biomedical imaging applications, especially when the radiation dose involved imposes a serious constraint.