X-ray transmission-rate-measuring by using low-cost laboratory counter

X-ray transmission rate measurement for material thickness determination is a widely used method in industrial applications. It is usually measured using expensive laboratory equipment. This method, which gives information about the material, is also used quite a lot in medical applications. However, laboratory equipment used in this measurement is often costly. Low-cost laboratory equipment for data acquisition with open-source hardware and software is a lifesaver for the low-budget research projects. Although there are many data acquisition hardware and software in the market, most of them are complex and expensive. They contain many extra features other than some specific ones required for transmission rate measurement. In this study, X-ray transmission rate measurement of some chemical compounds was carried out using a low-cost laboratory counter and data acquisition software. The results are shown by experiments and are consistent with the catalogue values of the materials and chemical compounds used. Thus, in this paper a method is proposed for both measuring the thickness of the material with known linear attenuation coefficient and measuring the linear attenuation coefficient for a material with known thickness.