Content of the Course:

Starting from Maxwellsequations the course will firstly treat the generation of x-rays utilizing x-ray tubes and synchrotron radiation sources. For the latter the emission characteristic due to the Lorentz boost and the spectral distribution will be derived in detail for bending magnets followed by a short overview of wiggler and undulator radiation. The concepts of longitudinal and transversal coherence will be introduced and basics of crystal monochromators will be discussed (3h).
In the next step interactions of x-rays with matter will be treated using mainly the wave model of x-rays. The effect on propagation of a wave field will be  described by the complex index of refraction comprising the absorption index and the refractive index decrement (5h).
With the armamentarium acquired in the first 8h, the course will focus on advanced imaging techniques using synchrotron radiation. Of special interest are phase based imaging modalities (free propagation phase contrast, analyzer based imaging, grating interferometers) that exploit the absorption index and the refractive index decrement simultaneously and yield extraordinary contrast. These will be discussed by means of application in material science and life science (6h.)
The last 6h will focus on the physics of generic imaging detectors. The concept of the spatial frequency depending detective quantum efficiency will be discussed for photon counting and  charge integrating detectors.