Abstract
The emission of characteristic X-rays from any chemical element induced by beta particles of high energy ( 10 5–10 6 eV ) is much higher than photon excitation, with the possible exception of selective excitation. This work describes the properties of a variable energy X-ray generator that uses 90Sr as a source of beta particles and a multitarget array in a transparent source geometry. This compact device provides, through suitable selection of the target material, over 30 monoenergetic lines spread uniformly in the energy range of between 6 and 100 keV. The X-ray photon flux thus generated has an intensity of between 10 2–10 3 s −1 sr −1 per MBq of the beta source activity. With this single beta source, the X-ray yield is higher as compared with generators using 241Am or other X- or gamma-ray sources with the same activity, and the line's intensity changes by less than a factor of three over the whole energy range.
Published Version
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