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US 12,738,440 B2Granted
X-ray tube with stable electron beam
AssigneeMoxtek, Inc.
InventorsKasey Otho Greenland, Todd S. Parker
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An x-ray tube can have a stable electron beam with resulting stable x-ray beam, reduced arcing failure of the x-ray tube, and reduced shielding mass. The x-ray tube can include a cathode and an anode electrically insulated from each other by a first enclosure and a second enclosure. A blocking disc can be located at or near a junction of the first enclosure and the second enclosure. A field-shaping cup can extend into a hollow region of the second enclosure. A low-Z-layer can be located on a side of the blocking disc that faces the electron emitter.
Claims20
An x-ray tube comprising:
- a cathode and an anode;
- the cathode includes an electron emitter configured to emit electrons towards the anode;
- the anode includes a target configured to emit x-rays out of the x-ray tube in response to impinging electrons from the cathode;
- an electrically insulative first enclosure and an electrically insulative second enclosure located between the cathode and the anode and electrically insulating the cathode from the anode;
- the first enclosure is located closer to the cathode than the second enclosure and the second enclosure is located closer to the anode than the first enclosure;
- an electrically conductive blocking disc with an aperture located between the cathode and the anode, and spaced apart from and electrically insulated from the cathode and the anode;
- a hollow region within the first enclosure, the aperture of the blocking disc, and a hollow region within the second enclosure providing a path for an electron beam from the electron emitter to the target;
- the blocking disc configured to resist x-rays, generated at the target, from transmitting into the hollow region within the first enclosure;
- an electrically conductive, field-shaping cup extending into the hollow region of the second enclosure, the path of the electron beam passes through a hole in a cup base of the field-shaping cup;
- a low-Z-layer on a side of the blocking disc that faces the electron emitter;
- a hole through the low-Z-layer is aligned with the path for the electron beam;
- a material composition of the low-Z-layer is different from a material composition of the blocking disc;
- and
- Z21<Z13, where Z21 is an atomic number of a highest atomic number element in the low-Z-layer and Z13 is an atomic number of a highest atomic number element in the blocking disc.
11 more elements
An x-ray tube, comprising:
- a cathode and an anode;
- the cathode includes an electron emitter configured to emit electrons towards the anode;
- the anode includes a target configured to emit x-rays out of the x-ray tube in response to impinging electrons from the cathode;
- an electrically insulative first enclosure and an electrically insulative second enclosure located between the cathode and the anode and electrically insulating the cathode from the anode;
- the first enclosure is located closer to the cathode than the second enclosure and the second enclosure is located closer to the anode than the first enclosure;
- an electrically conductive blocking disc with an aperture located between the cathode and the anode, and spaced apart from and electrically insulated from the cathode and the anode;
- a hollow region within the first enclosure, the aperture of the blocking disc, and a hollow region within the second enclosure providing a path for an electron beam from the electron emitter to the target;
- the blocking disc configured to resist x-rays, generated at the target, from transmitting into the hollow region within the first enclosure;
- and
- an electrically conductive, field-shaping cup extending into the hollow region of the second enclosure, the path of the electron beam passes through a hole in a cup base of the field-shaping cup;
- wherein the field-shaping cup includes a cup wall extending from the cup base and 0.1≤L1/L2≤0.25, where L1 is a length of the cup wall, and L2 is a length from the hole in the cup base to the target, both lengths L1 and L2 measured parallel to the path.
8 more elements
An x-ray tube, comprising:
- a cathode and an anode;
- the cathode includes an electron emitter configured to emit electrons towards the anode;
- the anode includes a target configured to emit x-rays out of the x-ray tube in response to impinging electrons from the cathode;
- an electrically insulative first enclosure and an electrically insulative second enclosure located between the cathode and the anode and electrically insulating the cathode from the anode;
- the first enclosure is located closer to the cathode than the second enclosure and the second enclosure is located closer to the anode than the first enclosure;
- an electrically conductive blocking disc with an aperture located between the cathode and the anode, and spaced apart from and electrically insulated from the cathode and the anode;
- a hollow region within the first enclosure, the aperture of the blocking disc, and a hollow region within the second enclosure providing a path for an electron beam from the electron emitter to the target;
- the blocking disc configured to resist x-rays, generated at the target, from transmitting into the hollow region within the first enclosure;
- and
- an electrically conductive, field-shaping cup extending into the hollow region of the second enclosure, the path of the electron beam passes through a hole in a cup base of the field-shaping cup;
- wherein the field-shaping cup includes a cup wall extending from the cup base, and ≥80% of the cup wall extends into the hollow region of the second enclosure.
8 more elements
An x-ray tube comprising:
- a cathode and an anode;
- the cathode includes an electron emitter configured to emit electrons towards the anode;
- the anode includes a target configured to emit x-rays out of the x-ray tube in response to impinging electrons from the cathode;
- an electrically insulative first enclosure and an electrically insulative second enclosure located between the cathode and the anode and electrically insulating the cathode from the anode;
- the first enclosure is located closer to the cathode than the second enclosure and the second enclosure is located closer to the anode than the first enclosure;
- an electrically conductive blocking disc with an aperture located between the cathode and the anode, and spaced apart from and electrically insulated from the cathode and the anode;
- a hollow region within the first enclosure, the aperture of the blocking disc, and a hollow region within the second enclosure providing a path for an electron beam from the electron emitter to the target;
- the blocking disc configured to resist x-rays, generated at the target, from transmitting into the hollow region within the first enclosure;
- a low-Z-layer on a side of the blocking disc that faces the electron emitter;
- a hole through the low-Z-layer is aligned with the path for the electron beam;
- a material composition of the low-Z-layer is different from a material composition of the blocking disc;
- and
- Z21<Z13, where Z21 is an atomic number of a highest atomic number element in the low-Z-layer and Z13 is an atomic number of a highest atomic number element in the blocking disc.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.