Patent Number: 
Section: description

Prior to describing how the grids of this invention are fabricated, it will be helpful to understand how the grids herein are best used. Desirable imaging instruments are those provided with grid trays for inclusion of the grids. A preferred instrument using grid trays is an imaging system 1 illustrated in FIG. 1. Two grid trays 4 and 6 are included, each having a pair of openings, one pair to receive grids 9 and 10, and one pair to accept grids 11 and 12. As described in my copending application referred to hereinbefore these two grid pairs provide the same imaging information that has been traditionally collected with multiple grid pairs. The first grid tray 4 has a real grid 9 and an imaginary grid 10. The second grid tray 6 is connected to the first grid tray 4 by one or more connecting rods 14 so that real grid 9 is aligned with real grid 11 and imaginary grid 10 is aligned with imaginary grid 12. Through drive rod 16 the grids are rotated so that data can be collected by detector 18 at multiple angular grid positions. The assembled grids, acting one behind the other, serve to allow only one spatial frequency from a source to pass through to a detector such as 18. A schematic representation of this imaging device is illustrated in FIG. 2 showing the energy source 20 (either X-rays, gamma rays or neutrons), two grids, such as 9 and 11 in FIG. 1, and detector 22. In the grid of this invention, element 24 is an opaque/absorbing material and element 26 is a transparent material. In general, depending on the selection of penetrating radiations, alternating layers of opaque/absorbing and transparent materials are used. It is the fabrication of these grid structures with which this invention is concerned. The stack can have any arbitrary number of layers such as 24 and 26, up to, say, ninety-nine, and the thickness of the layers usually ranges from the unit of nanometers to the unit of micrometers. Clearly, then, in the figures herein, the structures are exaggerated for clarification. Further, the resolution of the imaging system is limited by the thickness of the layers. In the embodiment preferred herein for X-rays and Gamma Rays, the opaque/absorptive element is tungsten and the transparent element is aluminum, although other absorptive and transparent materials for multilayers are well known in the art and need not be discussed at length herein. Examples are the preferred Al and W, as well as Si, Mo, Ti, Ni, Ag, C, ITO, Nb, Sr. In addition metal oxides such as Al2O3, Y2O3, TiO2, and the like, can be used. W/Si, NiC, and Mo/Si layers have been found useful, particularly in solar physics and EUV lithography. Transparent and absorbing materials such as beryllium, and glass for neutrons are also well known in the art and need not be revisited at length herein. Since multiple spatial frequencies are required to form an image, several grids are usually considered to be essential. The preferred means for utilizing more than one grid is the provision of grid trays carrying multiple grids. However, the openings in the grid trays into which the grids are placed are not always square apertures like those in FIG. 1. Rather, openings for the grids are fabricated in various shapes, which can be hexagonal, octagonal, round, and ellipse-shaped. FIG. 3 shows a typical grid tray 30 with openings for various sizes of grids and other instrumental elements. It is noted that such grid trays are to accept instruments having small round cross sections, as well as larger round cross sections, square and rectangular cross sections, and those having various other shapes. By this invention a method is provided by which grids can readily be made in all of those shapes. In general, the cross sections of openings in grid trays can be considered to be polygons. Since the grids must fit in these polygons, the grid cases, normally referred to as grids, will be polyhedrons with corresponding cross sections. In geometrical terms the cross sections of the grid openings, and the cross sections of the grids are congruent, and the polyhedrons are regular polyhedrons fitting slidably in the grid openings provided for them, a regular polyhedron being defined herein as a polyhedron whose faces between its front and back panels are parallelograms with perpendicular sides. Included are polyhedrons whose front and rear faces are tetragons, hexagons, octagons, decagons, and the like. As examples, three different grid tray openings 42, 52 and 62 are illustrated in grid tray 30 in FIG. 3. In FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 grids 44, 54, and 64 fitting slidably in openings 42, 52, and 62 are illustrated. It can be seen that grids 44, 54 and 64 are polyhedrons in the form of octahedral grids, cylindrical grids and elliptical grids, with the understanding that as the number of sides of a polygon increase it approaches a circle. Accordingly grids can have circular cross sections. Even openings 62 having approximately elliptical cross sections such as those in FIG. 3 are within the purview of this invention since, by the process provided herein, any shaped grid can be made. In the light of the description of the various shapes of the regular polyhedrons that can be constructed by this invention, the fabrication of the grids can now be described. Preliminarily, it should be pointed out that the polyhedron will be constructed using a transparent material such as aluminum that can be the same as the material in the multilayer within the polyhedron. However for various reasons, including ease of fabrication, glass is preferred herein. Thermally formed glass, being transparent to the particles or photons being observed, has many desirable properties. It results in a superior polyhedron for inclusion therein of the layers forming the multilayer. It is possible to obtain better absorption and scattering performance with glass than with most transparent materials, and it can be fabricated in appropriate sizes. For the sake of clarity, the simplest form, and a preferred form, of polyhedron, an elongated hexahedron, will be selected for the purpose of illustration. FIG. 7 is a front view of a hexahedron, 32, showing one of its two elongated parallel faces 33, forming front panel, the parallel back grid panel not being visible. Also only three of its four shorter faces, all of which are perpendicular to each other to form the hexahedron, are illustrated in FIG. 7. These short faces are 34, 35, and 36. The fourth face, a top face, has been removed in order to fabricate the grid. After the polyhedron is assembled, one face, in this instance the top face, is removed for insertion of absorptive and transparent strips or slats 24 and 26 as shown in FIG. 7. Absorptive strips 24, say tungsten, and transparent strips 26, such as aluminum, are sized to acceptable tolerances and cut in lengths equal to the width of the opening in case 32 as can be discerned by comparing FIGS. 7 and 9, FIG. 8 being an end view of hexahedron 32. The narrow bands 24 and 26 are then carefully inserted in hexahedron 32 as alternate layers as can be discerned from FIGS. 7 and 8. After insertion the layers are compressed to achieve a high precision layer alignment. In our preferred embodiment a piston drive is provided, connected as illustrated in FIG. 9, for achieving the proper compression. For greater precision it is used in combination with a micrometer, supported by bracket 21, as shown as an enlargement in FIG. 10. Illustrated in FIG. 10 is casing 48 housing a piston drive. Prior to describing the operation of the piston drive it is to be emphasized again that the mechanisms used, the movement of the piston, the sizes of the polyhedrons, and tolerances are all overemphasized in the drawings herein. The piston moves a fraction of a millimeter, and the drive mechanisms to be depicted are akin to watch works. For this reason a micrometer drive is employed. It can be coupled to a piston drive element, or it can be adapted for use as a wrench or screwdriver. High precision micrometers are provided with spring loaded ratchets limiting the amount of torque applied when measuring. It is this torque feature that makes it possible to achieve uniform piston compression from fabricated grid to fabricated grid The piston drive mechanisms are not a part of this invention since various drives are possible selections. However, as illustrations, two piston driving devices will be described in conjunction with FIGS. 9 and 11. With the understanding that micrometer 46 provides the driving force, FIGS. 9 and 11 illustrate right angle drives and parallel shaft drives respectively. In FIG. 9 the right angle drive is shown. The gear drive within housing 48, which is a rack, is shown in FIG. 12. When micrometer 46, coupled with a spur gear 49 through a spline or other drive rod 51, is turned, the spur gear is rotated. Spur gear 49 then drives rack 47. Since the rack is connected to piston 41, the micrometer drives the piston to the limit of the applied torque. Concomitantly piston 41 urges compression plate 45 downward in order to uniformly compress layers 37 and 39. In the embodiment of FIG. 11 a miniature screw jack 53 is urged forward by micrometer 46 coupled thereto, and the screw engages, or is coupled to, a piston 41. In this embodiment the drive is a straight gear thus adapted to drive compression or pressure plate 45. Referring again to FIG. 9, it is noted that the in order for the piston to function the open face must be replaced and locked on by some locking device such as screws 38 or clips, screws being preferred in view of the slidable fit in the grid tray. In addition the method described for producing grids in the form of hexahedrons is not entirely suitable for use in the fabrication of other polyhedral grids. It would be difficult to insert the absorptive and transparent grid layers through an end faces of other polyhedrons such as those previously discussed, and even more difficult to install the piston drives. For such grid shapes it is preferred to construct the front face in the form of an overlapping lid 55 as can be seen by comparing FIGS. 13 and 14. In order to close the polyhedron, the shape of the lid will be that of the polyhedron front face regardless of the shape of the polyhedron. To erect the grid, the front face (the lid) is removed and, into each half of the open polyhedron, the absorptive and transparent grid layers are inserted as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16. FIG. 15 shows the use with the hexahedron previously described. FIG. 16 illustrates the fabrication method as it will be utilized with any polyhedral shape. The pressure plates and piston drives have been purposely enlarged for a better understanding. Using this method the front face need not be locked on, or even replaced for the piston to operate. In this aspect the drive mechanism, among others, can be a dualaction piston (pistons 41) as illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16. A desirable dual piston drive for urging each piston away from the center is a reciprocating double rack such as that shown in FIG. 17. As seen in that figure the piston drive shafts are urged away from each other by racks 57 driven by spur gear 58. Each pressure plate 56 and 59 then compresses half of the multilayers inserted in the polyhedral case. It can be seen that, by the invention herein, it is possible more readily to provide multilayer grids superior to those now available for detecting a spatial distribution of an energy ray source. Each multilayer grid is a regular polyhedron having faces transparent to photons of interest. The polyhedron is provided with two larger faces in the form of congruent polygons, and smaller faces in the form of polygons separating the two larger faces a predetermined distance equal to the width of the layers contained in the polyhedron. The polyhedron carries a piston in order to compress and retain the multilayers in place within the polyhedron. The larger faces are shaped so that formed multilayer grids will fit slidably within the grid openings in the grid trays. When inserted in the grid tray the grid can be used in an imaging instrument having a spatial structure with high resolving power for displaying an image of the energy ray source. The grid can be used in the detection of various energy rays, and it is particularly suitable for X-ray, gamma ray, and neutron imaging, for which no other effective imaging method exists. Having been given the teachings of this invention ramifications and variations will occur to those skilled in the art. As an example the compression piston and the gearing housing can be removed prior to replacing the cover or front panel. However in our preferred embodiment the piston will be transparent to photons of interest, If the piston is formed of a material transparent to photons being observed it can be allowed to remain in the polyhedron when, as a grid, the polyhedron is placed in the grid tray. Similarly, the micrometer and piston drive, as well as the housing, can be made of a low-Z material so that they need not be removed As a variation, in the case of a hexahedron, unlike the other polyhedrons, the high-Z and low-Z layers can be inserted through any face. As another variation depth graded multilayers can be fabricated by the practice of this invention, As a still further ramification means can be provided for locking the piston in place after compression. In addition, in lieu of telescopes, the grids of the invention can be utilized in other spectroscopy and diffractometry instruments where energies of individual X-rays and neutron are to be measured with precision, for example, neutron imaging or therapy, spectrographic imagers, spectrometers, and diffractometers. Such modifications are deemed to be within the scope of this invention.