BriXS, a new X-ray inverse Compton source for medical applications

• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmp.2020.08.013
• Publication Date: 2020-08-20T09:52:46Z
• Authors: P. Cardarelli; A. Bacci; R. Calandrino; F. Canella; R. Castriconi; S. Cialdi; A. Del Vecchio; F. di Franco; I. Drebot; M. Gambaccini; D. Giannotti; A. Loria; G. Mettivier; G. Paternò; V. Petrillo; M. Rossetti Conti; P. Russo; A. Sarno; E. Suerra; A. Taibi; L. Serafini
• Keywords: Photons; Lasers; X-Rays; X-ray imaging; Electrons; Inverse Compton; Monochromatic X-ray; X-ray imaging; Inverse Compton; Radiography; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Monochromatic X-ray; Inverse Compton, Monochromatic X-ray, X-ray imaging

MariX is a research infrastructure conceived for multi-disciplinary studies, based on a cutting-edge system of combined electron accelerators at the forefront of the world-wide scenario of X-ray sources. The generation of X-rays over a large photon energy range will be enabled by two unique X-ray sources: a Free Electron Laser and an inverse Compton source, called BriXS (Bright compact X-ray Source). The X-ray beam provided by BriXS is expected to have an average energy tunable in the range 20-180 keV and intensities between 1011 and 1013 photon/s within a relative bandwidth ΔE/E=1-10%. These characteristics, together with a very small source size (~20 μm) and a good transverse coherence, will enable a wide range of applications in the bio-medical field. An additional unique feature of BriXS will be the possibility to make a quick switch of the X-ray energy between two values for dual-energy and K-edge subtraction imaging. In this paper, the expected characteristics of BriXS will be presented, with a particular focus on the features of interest to its possible medical applications.