New Submicro- and Micro-CT Set-up for NDT at the UGCT Facility of the Ghent University (Belgium)

The UGCT facility, a collaboration between the Radiation Physics research group (Department for Subatomic and Radiation Physics, Ghent University) and the Sedimentary Geology and Engineering Geology research group (Department for Geology and Soil Science, Ghent University) is building a new submicro- and micro-CT set-up providing a high range of scanning possibilities. Formerly a Skyscan 1072 was used to perform X-ray micro-CT scans at the UGCT facility and although it is a very powerful tool, current needs for higher resolution and more flexibility were demanded. Therefore the UCGT facility has started the construction of a multidisciplinary X-ray CT scanner inside a shielded room that is designed to allow flexible set-ups. The X-ray tube of this high-resolution CT scanner is a Feinfocus® state-of-the-art open-type device with dual head: one head for high power micro-CT and one for sub-micro- or nano-CT. An important advantage of this scanner is that different detectors can be used to optimize the scanning conditions of the objects under investigation. This entire set-up is built on an optical table to obtain high precision. Due to the dual head of the X-ray tube and the flexibility of the detector, the highest quality and the best signal-to-noise images for each type of sample is possible. In this paper, the different system components, e.g. tube, manipulator and X-ray detectors will be described. Further, the advantages and disadvantages of the different X-ray detectors, like CMOS, CCD, a-Si flat panel for scanning geo-materials are presented. Beam hardening filters and dedicated sample stages will be discussed. Finally, some of the latest results for micro-CT applied to geological samples will be illustrated.