Definition of a Microfocus Source Much to the chagrin of many in our industry, there’s no legal (or even just widely accepted) definition of a microfocus source. This leads to some understandable confusion among the X-ray source buying population, and to some occasional overly generous prose by the marketers in some X-ray source companies. In […]
We’ve talked before about choosing a target material, what a spectrum looks like, and why it matters for analytical applications. Many imaging applications overlook the importance of their tube’s spectrum and how it impacts image contrast and quality. Today we’re going to look specifically at bremsstrahlung radiation, learn what it is and why it matters […]
Before jumping into today’s post discussing Micro X-Ray’s unique diamond anode and how it can speed up your imaging applications, here’s a little background reading: Part 1 of this series Our article on voltage, current, and power Our article on spot size In Part 1, we followed the path of an X-ray from generation inside […]
Overview Throughput is king. For many X-ray imaging applications, the resolution of the image is just as important as the speed at which the image is acquired. For inline applications especially, the entire line speed can be dictated by the speed at which an X-ray image is acquired. If you want to analyze the image, […]
Target Material for XRF Instruments Selecting the appropriate anode target material for XRF (X-ray fluorescence) instruments is critical for obtaining precise and dependable results. The X-ray tube is the heart of the XRF equipment, and the target material inside the X-ray tube determines the primary spectrum of X-rays emitted. Different target materials possess unique properties, […]
Introduction X-ray tube power is defined as the product of beam current and excitation voltage. X-ray tubes work by accelerating electrons across a gap between a low voltage potential and a high voltage potential. As we learned in the article about X-ray Tube Topologies, there are several different ways to generate the required voltage. In […]
In simple terms, the focal spot size is the size of the electron beam where it hits the target on the tube’s anode. For most analytical applications like XRF, the focal spot size doesn’t really matter (there are always exceptions, of course). As long as the focal spot is “reasonably” small and stable, it is […]
X-ray Coverage and Magnification Formulas Some of the first questions to answer in imaging applications are: what is the X-ray coverage on my object? What’s my maximum magnification possible? What size cone angle do I need? What formulas should I use in my calculations? For X-ray imaging, it’s important to know how much area you […]
What are X-ray tube topologies? The topology of an X-ray tube refers to how the excitation voltage is generated inside the high voltage power supply. Determining which of the several common X-ray tube topologies is suitable for a high voltage supply is one of the first design decisions to make in any X-ray application. An […]
Why is High Beam Current at Low Excitation Voltages So Hard? In a lot of cases with X-ray tubes, more is better. More excitation voltage (kV), more power, higher flux density, etc. After all, most of what we do in X-ray analysis is about statistics. The more electrons in your beam, the more X-rays your […]
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