UNL scientists develop novel X-ray device

Research quality X-rays could have widespread applications

Using a compact but powerful laser, a research team at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has developed a new way to generate synchrotron X-rays.

Although the high quality of synchrotron X-rays make them ideal for research ranging from the structure of matter to advanced medical images, access to the technology has been limited until now. Most traditional synchrotron X-ray devices are gigantic and costly, available only at a few sites around the world.

As reported in this week’s issue of the top-ranked optics journal Nature Photonics, researchers at UNL’s Extreme Light Laboratory developed a novel method to generate research-quality X-rays using a “tabletop” laser.

“Our hope is that this new technology will lead to applications that benefit both science and society,” said Nathan Powers, a Ph.D. student and first author of the journal article.

Physics professor Donald Umstadter, director of the Extreme Light Laboratory, led the research project. He compared the synchrotron X-ray breakthrough to the development of personal computers, giving more people access to computing power once available only via large and costly mainframe computers. Shrinking components of advanced laser-based technology will increase the feasibility of producing high-quality X-rays in medical and university research laboratories, which in turn could lead to new applications for the X-rays.

Because the new X-ray device could be small enough to fit in a hospital or on a truck, it could lead to more widespread applications for advanced X-ray technology, UNL scientists said. New applications might include Homeland Security detecting nuclear materials concealed within a shielded container; doctors finding cancerous tumors at earlier stages; or scientists studying extremely fast reactions that occur too rapidly for observation with conventional X-rays.

Ever since synchrotron X-ray light sources were developed more than 60 years ago, they have grown in size. Some now equal the size of a college campus, with a cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars. These huge machines continue to be built, most recently in Australia and Brazil.

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Like supercomputers, they provide scientists with the most advanced research capabilities, yet they are not feasible for most practical applications. Though synchrotron X-rays result in lower doses of radiation as well as high-quality images, the tens of thousands of compact X-ray devices currently in operation in hospitals or at ports worldwide produce lower quality X-rays.

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