Phase-contrast X-ray imaging combining free space propagation and Bragg diffraction

The combination of X-ray `propagation-based' and `analyzer-based' phase-contrast imaging with a perfect crystal-analyzer is investigated. The image pattern produced using this `hybrid' imaging technique presents peculiar features that can be interpreted as a mixture of the two independent phase-contrast signals. A quantitative analysis has been performed in terms of signal-to-noise ratio for the three techniques considered in this paper. Results show that in the `hybrid imaging' technique this parameter has a weaker dependence on the angular alignment of the crystal analyser with respect to the `analyser-based' imaging. This pioneering experiment indicates that this hybrid imaging technique might permit simultaneous advantage of the specific features of the two imaging methods to be taken.