Abstract
A vacuum-sealed miniature X-ray tube based on a carbon nanotube field-emission electron source has been demonstrated. The diameter of the X-ray tube is 10 mm; the total length of the tube is 50 mm, and no external vacuum pump is required for the operation. The maximum tube voltage reaches up to 70 kV, and the X-ray tube generates intense X-rays with the air kerma strength of 108 Gy·cm2 min−1. In addition, X-rays produced from the miniature X-ray tube have a comparatively uniform spatial dose distribution.
Highlights
A miniature X-ray tube is a small X-ray generation device generally with a diameter of less than 10 mm [1,2,3,4,5]
X-ray tubes based on carbon nanotube (CNT) field-emission electron sources have been extensively developed because CNT emitters have several advantages compared with thermionic electron sources
It should be noted that there was no observable difference between the emission current measured at the CNT cathode and the current reaching the X-ray target
Summary
A miniature X-ray tube is a small X-ray generation device generally with a diameter of less than 10 mm [1,2,3,4,5]. Miniature X-ray tubes have been developed mostly using thermionic electron sources [3,4] or secondary X-ray emission [5]. X-ray tubes based on carbon nanotube (CNT) field-emission electron sources have been extensively developed because CNT emitters have several advantages compared with thermionic electron sources. The advantages of CNT emitters include (1) cold electron sources, and little heat is generated inside the tube [6] which is important for the minimization of an X-ray tube; (2) simplicity and easy controllability in a pulse operation [7,8]; (3) high current density for electron and X-ray microscopy devices [9,10]. We report that we have developed a vacuum-sealed miniature X-ray tube using a CNT field emitter. The miniature X-ray tube can be operated up to 70 kV and produces X-rays with very high intensities and a comparatively uniform spatial distribution
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