The laser–matter interaction and solidification phenomena associated with laser additive manufacturing (LAM) remain unclear, slowing its process development and optimisation. Here, through in situ and operando high-speed synchrotron X-ray imaging, we reveal the underlying physical phenomena during the deposition of the first and second layer melt tracks. We show that the laser-induced gas/vapour jet promotes the formation of melt tracks and denuded zones via spattering (at a velocity of 1 m s⁻¹). We also uncover mechanisms of pore migration by Marangoni-driven flow (recirculating at a velocity of 0.4 m s⁻¹), pore dissolution and dispersion by laser re-melting. We develop a mechanism map for predicting the evolution of melt features, changes in melt track morphology from a continuous hemi-cylindrical track to disconnected beads with decreasing linear energy density and improved molten pool wetting with increasing laser power. Our results clarify aspects of the physics behind LAM, which are critical for its development.

Keyhole porosity is a key concern in laser powder-bed fusion (LPBF), potentially impacting component fatigue life. However, some keyhole porosity formation mechanisms, e.g., keyhole fluctuation, collapse and bubble growth and shrinkage, remain unclear. Using synchrotron X-ray imaging we reveal keyhole and bubble behaviour, quantifying their formation dynamics. The findings support the hypotheses that: (i) keyhole porosity can initiate not only in unstable, but also in the transition keyhole regimes created by high laser power-velocity conditions, causing fast radial keyhole fluctuations (2.5–10 kHz); (ii) transition regime collapse tends to occur part way up the rear-wall; and (iii) immediately after keyhole collapse, bubbles undergo rapid growth due to pressure equilibration, then shrink due to metal-vapour condensation. Concurrent with condensation, hydrogen diffusion into the bubble slows the shrinkage and stabilises the bubble size. The keyhole fluctuation and bubble evolution mechanisms revealed here may guide the development of control systems for minimising porosity.

Imaging intact human organs from the organ to the cellular scale in three dimensions is a goal of biomedical imaging. To meet this challenge, we developed hierarchical phase-contrast tomography (HiP-CT), an X-ray phase propagation technique using the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)’s Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS). The spatial coherence of the ESRF-EBS combined with our beamline equipment, sample preparation and scanning developments enabled us to perform non-destructive, three-dimensional (3D) scans with hierarchically increasing resolution at any location in whole human organs. We applied HiP-CT to image five intact human organ types: brain, lung, heart, kidney and spleen. HiP-CT provided a structural overview of each whole organ followed by multiple higher-resolution volumes of interest, capturing organotypic functional units and certain individual specialized cells within intact human organs. We demonstrate the potential applications of HiP-CT through quantification and morphometry of glomeruli in an intact human kidney and identification of regional changes in the tissue architecture in a lung from a deceased donor with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).