Method for producing a scattered beam collimator, scattered beam collimator and x-ray device with scattered beam collimator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11443867-B2
Application number	US-202016897439-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 10, 2020
Priority date	Jun 19, 2019
Publication date	Sep 13, 2022
Grant date	Sep 13, 2022

Abstract

A method is for producing a scattered beam collimator starting from a lower side and extending in a build-up direction as far as an upper side, and having a large number of X-ray absorbing partitions, and in which pass-through channels for unscattered X-ray radiation are embodied between the partitions. A lithographic process is used, by which the partitions of the scattered beam collimator are formed from a photoresist into which an X-ray absorbing material is mixed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for producing a scattered beam collimator starting from a lower side of the scattered beam collimator and extending in a build-up direction to an upper side of the scattered beam collimator, the scattered beam collimator including a number of X-ray absorbing partitions with pass-through channels for unscattered X-ray radiation embodied between the X-ray absorbing partitions, the method comprising:
forming the number of X-ray absorbing partitions of the scattered beam collimator, using a lithographic process, from a photoresist into which an X-ray absorbing material is mixed; wherein
the X-ray absorbing material is mixed into the photoresist such that a volumetric proportion of the X-ray absorbing material is at least approximately 30%.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
exposing a layer of the photoresist in a course of the lithographic process, and
following the layer of the photoresist being exposed, at least one of rinsing or bathing the layer in a solvent to form the pass-through channels.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein a layer of the photoresist has a thickness with a value in a range of 200 μm to 800 μm.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the photoresist has an epoxy resin as a base resin.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the X-ray absorbing material includes a metal.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein X-ray absorbing material is mixed into the photoresist in a form of pellets.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein a substrate is used.

8. The method of 7 , further comprising:
building up the scattered beam collimator or a module of the scattered beam collimator in layers on the substrate, in a build-up direction, by repeating the lithographic process.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
forming a stabilizing intermediate layer by performing a coating process between two lithographic processes.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the forming a stabilizing intermedia layer comprises:
forming a metallic coating as the stabilizing intermediate layer via the coating process, by sputtering.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the stabilizing intermediate layer has a thickness between 10 μm and 50 μm.

12. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
filling, with a filling material, free spaces between structures formed of the photoresist between two lithographic processes.

13. A scattered beam collimator starting from the lower side and extending in a build-up direction to the upper side, the scattered beam collimator including the number of X-ray absorbing partitions in which pass-through channels for unscattered X-ray radiation are embodied between the X-ray absorbing partitions, the scattered beam collimator produced by the method of claim 1 .

14. The scattered beam collimator of claim 13 , wherein the build-up direction extends between 5 mm and 30 mm.

15. An X-ray device, comprising:
an X-ray radiation source;
an X-ray detector; and
the scattered beam collimator of claim 13 , arranged between the X-ray radiation source and the X-ray detector.

16. The X-ray device of claim 15 , wherein the X-ray device is embodied as a computed tomography apparatus.

17. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
at least one of rinsing or bathing the layer in a gamma-butyrolactone solvent, to form the pass-through channels.

18. The method of claim 3 , wherein a layer of the photoresist has a thickness in a range of 400 μm to 600 μm.

19. The method of claim 5 , wherein the metal is tungsten.

Assignees

• Siemens Healthcare Gmbh

Inventors

• Ergler Thorsten
• Wirth Stefan
• Krstic Vojislav
• Kolesnik-Gray Maria Magdalena

Classifications

• G03F7/2039

  X-ray radiation · CPC title

• A61B6/4291

  the detector being combined with a grid or grating · CPC title

• A61B6/032

  Transmission computed tomography [CT] · CPC title

• G21K1/02 Primary

  using diaphragms, collimators · CPC title

• G03F7/20

  Exposure; Apparatus therefor (photographic printing apparatus for making copies G03B27/00) · CPC title