X-ray phase-contrast microscopy of wood and paper

We report the first results of a feasibility study of in-line hard X-ray phase-contrast microscopy (XPCM) of paper and some wood samples. We demonstrate that the application of phase-contrast techniques leads to considerable improvement of the quality and increase of the information content of the X-ray images compared to conventional X-ray imaging methods. The XPCM images were collected with a laboratory microfocus X-ray source. They reveal a wealth of information about the internal structure of the samples in their native state. We also compare the XPCM images with ordinary and confocal visible light microscopy images, and with beta-radiographs obtained using the same samples.