High-speed data acquisition for three-dimensional x-ray and neutron computed tomography

Computed tomography for nondestructive evaluation applications has been limited by system cost, resolution, and time requirements for three-dimensional data sets. FlashCT (Flat panel Amorphous Silicon High-Resolution Computed Tomography) is a system developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory to address these three problems(1). Developed around flat panel amorphous silicon detector array, FlashCT is suitable for low to medium energy x-ray and neutron computed tomography at 127-micron resolution. Overall system size is small, allowing rapid transportation to a variety of radiographic sources. System control software was developed in LabVIEW for Windows NT to allow multithreading of data acquisition, data correction, and staging motor control. The system control software simplifies data collection and allows fully automated control of the data acquisition process, leading toward remote or unattended operation. The first generation of the FlashCT Data Acquisition System was completed in August 1998, and since that rime the system has been tested using x-ray sources ranging in energy from 60 kV to 20MV. The system has also been used to collect data for thermal neutron computed tomography at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center(LANSCE). System improvements have been proposed to provide faster data collection and greater dynamic range during data collection.