Supply of a liquid-metal target in x-ray generation

A method for closed-loop supply of liquid metal to an interaction region, in which an electron beam is to impact upon the liquid metal to generate X rays, comprising the steps of:

• raising a pressure of the liquid metal in a first portion of a closed-loop circulation system to at least 10 bar using a high-pressure pump;
• conducting the liquid metal at a pressure of at least 10 bar to a nozzle;
• ejecting the liquid metal from the nozzle into a vacuum chamber, in which the interaction region is located, for generating a liquid metal jet propagating through the vacuum chamber at 10 m/s or more;
• collecting the ejected liquid metal in a collection reservoir;
• raising a pressure of the collected liquid metal, in a second portion of the closed-loop circulation system located between the collection reservoir and the high-pressure pump in the flow direction of the liquid metal, to an inlet pressure suitable for the high-pressure pump, said inlet pressure being at least 0.1 bar;
• and
• repeating the above steps to effect supply of liquid metal to the interaction region in a closed loop,
• wherein said step of collecting the ejected liquid metal includes using a slanting surface for conducting the jet into the collection reservoir in order to reduce contamination of the vacuum chamber by liquid-metal splashes, mist and the like from the collection reservoir.