Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 267 (2009) 35663573

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Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/nimb

A microfocus X-ray tube based on a microstructured X-ray target

Aamir Ihsan, Sung Hwan Heo, Sung Oh Cho *
Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 7 May 2009
Received in revised form 29 July 2009
Available online 19 August 2009
PACS:
52.38.Ph
52.59.Px
87.59.e
Keywords:
X-ray tube
X-ray target
Microstructure
Microfocus

a b s t r a c t
We present a novel concept to develop a microfocus X-ray tube based on a microstructured X-ray target
that is irradiated with a nonfocused electron beam. X-ray emissions from the microstructured targets
with various morphologies were studied using Monte-Carlo simulation code MCNP5. The calculations
revealed that the microstructured targets are quite capable of minimizing the effective X-ray spot size
compared with those of conventional transmission-type X-ray targets. Based on the simulation results
of X-ray brightness, optimum geometric parameters were derived for the microstructured targets with
different morphologies. Moreover, the stability of the microstructured target against heat loads delivered
by an electron beam was also investigated under both the continuous and pulsed operation modes. From
the analysis, the limitations of the maximum allowable electron beam currents for the stable operation of
the X-ray targets are presented. The combination of the microstructured targets and nonfocused electron
beam allows the miniaturization of a microfocus X-ray tube by eliminating the needs for massive and
complex focusing devices.
2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Microfocus X-ray tubes have now become a robust and powerful tool for high quality X-ray imaging because they provide minute image details at the micron level [1,2]. The high image
resolution rendered by microfocus X-ray sources is due to their
small effective X-ray focal spot size [3,4]. The term, effective Xray focal spot size, stems from the fact that the interactions between
the impinging electrons and the atoms of an X-ray target result in
signicant electron beam broadening [5]. The phenomenon of the
electron beam broadening happens even if a well focused and collimated electron beam strikes an X-ray target. Minimization of the
effective X-ray spot size is desirable in order to enhance the spatial
resolution of an X-ray image. In this sense, a reection-type X-ray
target composed of a bulk metal is not feasible to obtain smaller
X-ray focal spot size because of serious electron beam broadening
inside the target. Recently, a transmission-type X-ray target made
of a thin metal layer on an X-ray window has been widely used to
obtain a small X-ray focal spot size, especially for microfocus X-ray
tubes [6]. Since the thickness of a metal layer in a transmissiontype X-ray target is of the order of a few micrometers, electron
beam broadening inside the target can be limited [7]. Thus, most
of the present microfocus X-ray tubes are operated with a transmission-type X-ray target and a micrometer-sized electron beam
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 42 350 3823; fax: +82 42 350 3810.
E-mail address: socho@kaist.ac.kr (S.O. Cho).
0168-583X/$ - see front matter 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2009.08.012

that impinges on the target [8]. However, in order to get such a

micrometer-sized electron beam, focusing devices such as a magnetic lens, beam apertures and focusing electrodes are required
[9,10]. These devices make the system massive and complex,
preventing the miniaturization of a microfocus X-ray tube. Moreover, even if a thin metal layer is used for a transmission-type
X-ray target, the thickness of the layer cannot be reduced below
a certain limit because the intensity of the produced X-ray
decreases according to the decreased target thickness [11].
For this reason, we propose a new concept to develop a microfocus X-ray tube. Instead of using a transmission-type X-ray target
combined with a ne focused electron beam, we suggest the use of
a microstructured X-ray target combined with a nonfocused electron beam. Although the size of the electron beam impinging on
a target is larger than the micron scales, the focal spot size of an
X-ray generated from the target is inherently limited to the micron
scales due to the nite size of the microstructured target. The focal
spot size of X-rays can be readily changed by changing the lateral
size of the microstructures. In addition, since no focusing devices
or elements are required in this concept, the size of an X-ray tube
can be dramatically decreased and thus a very tiny X-ray tube can
be developed.
In this paper, we report detailed research on the microstructured targets. The X-ray intensity, the angular distribution, the
effective focal spot size and brightness of X-rays produced from
the microstructured targets have been calculated via Monte-Carlo
(MC) simulation. Based on a series of simulation results for

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microstructured X-ray targets of different morphologies, we propose the optimum dimensions of the targets to achieve the brightest possible X-rays. In addition, we discuss the thermal stability of
the microstructured X-ray targets and the limitations of electron
beam power loading for the stable operation of the target.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. The concept of a microfocus X-ray tube with a microstructured
target
In X-ray radiography, microfocus X-ray tubes are considered
state of the art for rendering high spatial resolution of an image because of their small focal spot sizes. Generally, a very ne-focused
and small-sized electron beam is considered an essential element
of a microfocus X-ray system. However, once the electrons strike
an X-ray target, the effective focal spot size becomes larger than
the actual size of the electron beam due to beam broadening. A
transmission-type X-ray target, which is composed of a thin metallic layer supported by a thicker X-ray window layer, is very helpful
in minimizing the effective focal spot size by restricting the electron beam broadening. A conventional microfocus X-ray tube is
generally composed of a well-focused electron beam and a thin
transmission-type X-ray target, as illustrated in Fig. 1a.
Alternatively, we propose another approach to form a microfocus X-ray tube, as shown in Fig. 1b. In our concept, a metallic
microstructure is attached to a substrate that acts as an X-ray
window. The microstructured X-ray target is irradiated with a
nonfocused electron beam with a much larger size than the
micrometer-sized X-ray target. Although the beam size is sufciently large, X-rays are produced only at the microstructured
target and electrons passing beyond the lateral dimensions of the
micro-particle cannot contribute to X-ray production. In addition,
even if beam broadening occurs inside the microstructured target,
the electrons crossing over the lateral extent of the target do not
produce X-rays. Consequently, the focal spot size of the generated
X-ray is determined only by the lateral size of the microstructures
and independent of the incident electron beam size. A

Fig. 2. The morphologies of microstructured targets used in the simulation. (a)

Spherical micro-particle, (b) hemispherical micro-particle, (c) micro-shell, (d)
micro-rod and (e) micro-cone.

micrometer-sized X-ray focal spot size is inherently generated by

a microstructured target and the X-ray spot size can be further decreased, for example, down to the submicron level by decreasing
the lateral dimension of the target. Moreover, due to the usage of
a nonfocused electron beam, a massive and complex device for
focusing an electron beam is not required for a microfocus X-ray
tube, which is very favorable for the miniaturization of a microfocus
X-ray tube.
In this study, we considered the microstructures of several morphologies including spherical and hemispherical micro-particles,
micro-shells, micro-rods and micro-cones. Fig. 2 depicts the morphologies of the microstructures used in this study. Molybdenum,
which is one of the commonly used X-ray target materials, was
considered as the material of the microstructured target.
By virtue of recent advancements in micro- and nano-technology, microstructures with various morphologies can be controllably synthesized. Because of the sputtering capability, focused ion
beam (FIB) technique has emerged as a good tool for the fabrication of diverse metallic micro- and nano-structures [1217]. Based
on these reports about the capability of FIB process, we believe that
the microstructures shown in Fig. 2 can be fabricated by FIB
technique.
2.2. Simulation tools

Fig. 1a. Schematic layout of a transmission-type microfocus X-ray system with a

foil target.

Calculations for X-ray target design involve several mutually

contending and interrelated parameters: X-ray intensity, effective
focal spot size, electron beam current density, accelerating voltage
and temperature elevation. There is always a mutual trade-off
among these parameters. Monte-Carlo simulation is a well-established and highly effective approach to resolve these interdependent and competing factors during the X-ray emission process. It
incorporates realistic interaction cross-sections and can be applied
to targets having complex geometries. In this research, we implemented MC simulations using MCNP code version 5 [18] for the
estimation of effective focal spot size, and the calculation of the
intensity distribution of X-rays generated from the microstructured targets. Furthermore, the stability against thermal loading
was also investigated for the microstructured X-ray targets using
COMSOL Multiphysics [19], which is commercialized software
based on the nite element method.
2.3. Estimation of effective focal spot size

Fig. 1b. Schematic layout of a microfocus X-ray system with a microstructured

target.

Contrary to thick and bulky targets, the microstructured targets

do not suffer from electron beam broadening because electron

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A. Ihsan et al. / Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 267 (2009) 35663573

beams cannot spread out beyond the lateral dimensions of the targets. However, despite the preclusion of electron beam broadening,
the effective focal spot size of the X-ray produced from a microstructured target may not be comparable with the real dimensions
of the target. It is because that the X-ray emission takes place isotropically throughout the length of a microstructured target, and
hence, the effective size of the X-ray focal spot at the end of the target is larger than the target size.
In order to dene the effective X-ray focal spot size, we can consider an imaginary plane normal to the target central axis on the
backside surface of the target. Then, the effective X-ray spot size
can be dened as the diameter of the region on the imaginary
plane through which the X-rays are emanating from. A prevalent
approach for the estimation of an effective X-ray spot size is based
on the distribution of X-ray intensity obtained from the targets
[2022]. These reports indicate full width at half maximum
(FWHM) of the Gaussian as an established criterion for the estimation of X-ray spot size from the distribution of X-ray intensity. In
this work, we calculated the lateral distribution of X-ray intensity
on the backside of the target. Simulations were carried out in
coupled electron-photon mode. In order to calculate the intensity
distribution, an MCNP point detector tally was employed. The
effective spot size was then estimated from the FWHM of the
X-ray intensity distribution at the imaginary plane for each of
the target geometry.
2.4. X-ray brightness
Although a smaller focal spot is desirable to obtain a better spatial resolution of an X-ray image, such a small focal spot can be a
drawback from the standpoint of X-ray production. A very small
X-ray spot size might not be useful because of its poor productivity. In this sense, X-ray spot size and produced X-ray intensity are
considered to be competing parameters. To evaluate the X-ray
source both in size and in X-ray intensity, we considered the
brightness of the produced X-ray as a gure of merit. Brightness
takes into account both X-ray spot size and X-ray intensity, and
is dened as [22]:

I
;
DA  DX

The results of the effective X-ray spot size and the X-ray brightness produced from each of the target are enclosed in the following
subsections. The X-ray brightness produced from each of the
microstructured targets is also compared with that produced from
a foil target with a thickness of 3 lm. The foil thickness of 3 lm
was chosen because it is optimum for the maximization of brightness for Mo targets irradiated by a 50 keV electron beam [11]. The
geometric dimensions (in lm) of the microstructured targets used
in the simulations are indicated within the legends of the respective intensity proles (Figs. 35, 7 and 9). The FWHM of the Gaussian for each of the intensity prole is also included in the same
legend and its value is underlined. The acronyms used for the geometric dimensions are mentioned in Fig. 2.
3.1. Effective focal spot size and brightness
3.1.1. Spherical micro-particles (MSP)
Six different cases of spherical micro-particles were simulated
with diameters ranging from 3 to 10 lm. Fig. 3 shows the intensity
proles for the estimation of effective focal spot size. As expected,
the effective spot size was found to increase with an increase in the
particle diameter. The result of the X-ray brightness produced from
these particles is shown in Fig. 6. A comparison of these results
with the brightness produced from a foil target with a thickness
of 3 lm is also shown with the help of a dotted horizontal line. A
comparison of the result with that of a foil target indicates a decrease in brightness for the particles with the diameter exceeding
4 lm. This is because of the increase in the focal spot size and the
reduction in the X-ray intensity. The latter can be explained in that
the increase in the particle size increases the penetration thickness
of the X-ray inside the particle, while X-ray attenuation occurs during the penetration. This implies that spherical morphologies with
small diameter can yield higher X-ray brightness.

where I is the X-ray intensity emitted into the solid angle DX and
DA is the effective focal spot size of X-rays. The brightness of X-rays
as dened in the above equation was evaluated for all of the morphologies of the microstructured targets shown in Fig. 2.
3. Results and discussion
The evaluation of X-ray brightness was carried out through a
two-step calculation process. In the rst step, the effective focal
spot size was estimated by MC simulations for different morphologies of microstructured targets. The morphologies of microstructured geometries include the following: spherical and
hemispherical micro-particles, micro-shells, micro-rods and micro-cones. An electron beam with a size of 10 lm and energy of
50 keV was employed throughout the simulations for the calculation of effective spot size and X-ray intensity. Molybdenum (Mo)
was considered to be the target material. In the second step, the
X-ray intensity generated from each target type was calculated.
In the X-ray intensity calculation, we considered X-rays produced
into the solid angle of 0.8415 sr, which corresponds to the cone angle of 60. Finally X-ray brightness was evaluated from the calculated values of the effective focal spot size and X-ray intensity
using Eq. (1). In these calculations, the number of particles histories for each simulation case was 5  107, which was sufcient to
keep the statistical error within the reliable limits.

Fig. 3. Lateral distribution of X-ray intensity emitted from spherical micro-particles

with different diameters.

Fig. 4. Lateral distribution of X-ray intensity emitted from hemispherical microparticles with different diameters.

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Fig. 5. Lateral distribution of X-ray intensity emitted from micro-shells with inner diameters of (a) 2 lm, (b) 3 lm, (c) 4 lm and (d) 5 lm.

the electron beam size was xed as 10 lm. The intensity proles
are shown in Fig. 5, whereas the brightness results are shown in
Fig. 6. The results indicate that for a xed inner shell diameter,
the effective spot size increases with an increase in the shell thickness. Consequently, a decreasing trend in brightness is observed.
For cases like 1MS3 and 2MS3, brightness still decreases despite
the spot size not being larger than that of foil. This is because of
the decrease in the intensity, which is caused by the larger thickness of the shell. Micro-shells with thicknesses of up to 2 lm are
found to produce brighter X-rays.

Fig. 6. Brightness of X-rays produced from spherical micro-particles, hemispherical

micro-particles and micro-shells.

3.1.2. Hemispherical micro-particles (HMSP)

Likewise for the spherical micro-particles, six cases of hemispherical micro-particles were simulated with diameters ranging
from 3 to 10 lm. Fig. 4 represents the intensity distribution for
the calculation of effective X-ray spot size. The results of brightness
as depicted in Fig. 6 indicate almost the same trend as exhibited by
the spherical micro-particles. Interestingly, the spot size is much
smaller, and a higher value of brightness is achieved with hemispherical particles having diameters of up to 8 lm. The difference
comes from the thickness, which is halved in the case of hemispherical geometries. Therefore, hemispherical micro-particles
targets have superior X-ray production properties to spherical
micro-particles.
3.1.3. Micro-shells (MS)
Several cases of micro-shells have been simulated. The cases in
which the outer shell diameter exceeds 10 lm were simulated
with electron beams with comparable size. For all other cases,

3.1.4. Micro-rods (MR)

Quite a large number of cases have been simulated for microrods. Numerous combinations based on the rod length ranging
310 lm and the diameter ranging from 1 to 10 lm were considered in this study. The intensity proles for the estimation of the
focal spot are arranged in six sets such that the diameter of the
rod remains xed for a particular set. The intensity proles are
shown in Fig. 7, whereas X-ray brightness is depicted in Fig. 8. Both
the rod length and diameter have their own impacts on the spot
size and X-ray intensity. The effective spot size is found to increase
with an increase in the rod diameter or length. However, the effect
of length is found to be more drastic. The micro-rods with their
lengths of up to 3 lm and diameters of less than or equal to
8 lm, are found to be the optimum geometric parameters to produce increased brightness compared to the foil target.
3.1.5. Micro-cones (MC)
Similar to micro-rods, a variety of cases composed of microcones were simulated. Several combinations of the cone-base
diameter of 310 lm and the cone height (length) of 18 lm were
considered in this study. As with the micro-rods, the intensity proles were arranged in six sets such that the diameter of the conebase remains xed for a particular set. Fig. 9 represents the six sets
of the intensity proles, and the brightness is exhibited in Fig. 10.

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A. Ihsan et al. / Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 267 (2009) 35663573

Fig. 7. Lateral distribution of X-ray intensity emitted from micro-rods with diameters of (a) 3 lm, (b) 4 lm, (c) 5 lm, (d) 6 lm, (e) 8 lm and (f) 10 lm.

up to 6 lm and lengths up to 5 lm are concluded to constitute

the optimum conditions for the maximization of X-ray brightness.
3.2. Effect of substrate on the X-ray production

Fig. 8. Brightness of X-rays produced from micro-rods.

For almost all congurations of micro-cone targets, the effective

spot sizes remain smaller than that of the foil target. The spot size
becomes comparable to or exceeds that of foil geometry for only
the cones which have a base diameter of 10 lm with length
exceeding 3 lm. The cone parameters with their base diameters

The X-ray target is composed of a microstructure attached to a

relatively thicker substrate that acts as an X-ray window as well.
The necessity of the substrate will be described in detail in a later
section. Since the microstructured target is irradiated by a large
size electron beam, a signicantly larger region of the substrate becomes under direct irradiation by an electron beam. The situation
gives rise to the production of X-rays inside the substrate material.
On the other hand, the substrate also attenuates the X-rays produced from the target. Low Z materials like beryllium (Be), aluminum (Al), lithium (Li) and boron (B) are generally used as the
substrate/window material in transmission type X-ray tubes. We
chose Be as the substrate material in our simulations because of
its distinguishing properties which include the following: low yield
of bremsstrahlung radiation, transparency to shorter wavelength
X-rays, accessibility, high thermal conductivity, and a high
strength-to-weight ratio [23]. In order to investigate the effect of

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Fig. 9. Lateral distribution of X-ray intensity emitted from micro-cones with base diameters of (a) 3 lm, (b) 4 lm, (c) 5 lm, (d) 6 lm, (e) 8 lm and (f) 10 lm.

this thickness of the Be substrate, the X-ray intensity was found to

decrease by 14%, 6% and 10% for the three cases, respectively. However, this decrease is not a serious problem for real applications.
3.3. Thermal stability of the microstructured target assembly

Fig. 10. Brightness of X-rays produced from micro-cones.

the substrate layer on the X-ray intensity, we calculated the X-ray

intensity for three different types of targets for a cone angle of 30.
The target types include foil (3 lm), a micro-cone (length: 6 lm;
base-diameter: 5 lm) and a micro-rod (length: 3 lm; diameter:
5 lm). For each case, the thickness of beryllium was 500 lm. With

The irradiation of an intense electron beam onto the microstructured target can induce melting of the microstructure, thereby
result in operational instability. In addition to the production of Xrays, an electron beam produces heat inside an X-ray target. Almost 99% of the electron energy is converted into heat. For stable
operation, the heat must be dissipated quickly and efciently so
that the maximum temperature of a target/substrate assembly
can be kept much lower than the melting limits of the materials
involved.
Thermal loading scenario in the case of a micro-particle is a bit
different from that of a foil target. In the case of a foil target, a
micrometer-sized electron beam strikes the target and looses a
portion of its energy while penetrating through the foil. The beam
then enters the substrate layer with greatly reduced energy and
deposits the rest of the energy in the substrate. The substrate is

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A. Ihsan et al. / Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 267 (2009) 35663573

not directly irradiated by the electron beam. On the other hand, in

the case of a microstructured target supported by a substrate, it is
almost impossible to focus a micrometer-sized electron beam on
the particular microstructure. A practical and feasible approach is
to use an electron beam with a size much larger than the microstructure. However, in this case, almost all of the beam currents
interact directly with the substrate material, and a fraction of the
beam currents strikes the target. This situation gives rise to a substantial heat loading of the substrate in comparison with a foil
target, thus making the substrate more vulnerable to melting. Considering the importance of the scenario, we analyzed the operational stability of micro-particle/substrate assembly against the
thermal loading.
3.3.1. Details of modeling
When an electron beam propagates through an X-ray target, it
transfers its kinetic energy to the target. Both the penetration

depth and lateral broadening of an incident electron beam depend

on the range of electrons in the material. For a large-sized electron
beam (for example, 1 mm in size), beam broadening is not of signicant importance; however, the knowledge of energy loss with
the penetration depth is important in order to get a complete picture of the temperature distribution within the material. The temperature proles in the target/substrate assembly were calculated
in two steps. In the rst step, the distribution of the electron beam
power lost in a target/substrate assembly was calculated using
MCNP code, which actually provided the distribution of the heat
source which causes the temperature of the target/substrate
assembly to increase. In the second step, the temperature prole
within the target/substrate was calculated using COMSOL Multiphysics from the results of the rst step.
In the simulation model of COMSOL Multiphysics, it was assumed that a 50 keV electron beam with a diameter of 1 mm
strikes a target/substrate assembly with the microstructured target
located at the central position. The majority of the electron beam
interacts directly with the substrate, and there is no major difference in the dimensions of various micro-particles studied. Therefore, only one case of the microstructured targets, a micro-cone
(length: 3 lm; base-diameter: 5 lm) attached to a Be substrate
with a thickness of up to 500 lm, was simulated for the thermal
loading calculation. The simulation was carried out for a twodimensional geometry having an axial symmetry under both the
steady state and transient conditions. The general heat equation
to solve the problem is described as follows:

Q  qC p

@T
rkrT
@t

and in case of 2-dimensional cylindrical symmetric problem, the

above equation can be rewritten as:

Q qC p
Fig. 11. Axis-symmetric temperature prole of a micro-cone (beam current 3.4 A,
pulse size 1 ls).





@T 1 @
@T
@
@T

kr

k
;
@t r @r
@r
@z
@z

where Q is the heat source term (W/m3), q is the density, CP is the

heat capacity of the medium, k is the thermal conductivity and T is

Fig. 12. Axial and radial temperature proles for the target (micro-cone) and substrate regions (beam current 3.4 A, pulse size 1 s).

A. Ihsan et al. / Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 267 (2009) 35663573

the temperature. The temperature of the substrate backside and circular periphery of target/substrate assembly was assumed to be
kept at 300 K, which can be realized by water cooling. Convection
heat transfer was not taken into account, in order to testify the
model for operational stability for even adverse and unfavorable
conditions.
3.3.2. Temperature prole and maximum beam current
The intensity and consequently the X-ray brightness depends
on the electron beam current impinging on an X-ray target.
According to our calculations, in the case of a foil target incident
upon by 50 keV electron beam, a beam current of about 17 lA is
needed to achieve a high level of brightness, such as 109 photons
s1 lm2 msr1 (eld of view: 60) [11]. This implies that the target composed of micro-particles should also be able to withstand a
beam current of at least 17 lA in order to produce bright X-rays.
We investigated the capability of the micro-cone target to withstand high beam currents. At rst, we carried out a steady-state
analysis with the conditions described in the previous subsection
using COMSOL Multiphysics. Under steady-state conditions, when
the target/substrate assembly was irradiated by a 50 keV electron
beam 1 mm in size, the maximum value of the beam current that
the target/substrate assembly could withstand without being
melted was found to be 13.5 mA. Only a fraction of this beam
current strikes against the target, and the effective value of beam
current that is responsible for X-ray production is just 0.67 lA. This
value is much smaller than 17 lA needed for a foil target to obtain
a brightness of 109. This clearly indicates that the microstructured target cannot produce such high X-ray brightness under a
steady-state operation.
Therefore, instead of a steady-state operation, transient conditions when the electron beam is operated in the pulse mode were
investigated. The calculations show that the target/substrate
assembly could withstand a beam current of 3.4 A when an electron beam with a pulse width of 1 ls is incident upon. The beam
current incident upon the microstructured target is then calculated
to be 85 lA, which is much larger than the 17 lA needed in the
case of foil. Figs. 11 and 12 exhibit the results of a particular scenario in pulse operation with the pulse a width of 1 ls and a beam
current of 3.4 A. Fig. 11 shows an axis-symmetric temperature prole of the target (micro-cone) soon after the heat source is
switched off (after 1 ls). Interestingly, the maximum beam current
under both the steady-state and pulse operation conditions is limited by the melting temperature of the Be substrate (1560 K), and
the maximum temperature of the target remained considerably
lower than its melting limit (2896 K). Fig. 12a and b show the temperature prole along the cone axis and targetsubstrate interface.
While axial and radial temperature proles for Be substrate are
exhibited in Fig. 12c and d. The results indicate that the temperature decreases sharply in the radial direction for the regions beyond the beam diameter. In the axial direction, temperature falls
off beyond the depth equal to the range of 50 keV electrons in
the substrate (35 lm).
According to the analysis, a target composed of a microstructure
is found to be promising in producing high X-ray brightness under

3573

pulse operation, without inducing the melting of any target/substrate assembly material.
4. Conclusion
We have demonstrated a new concept to develop a microfocus
X-ray tube, which utilizes a microstructured target that is irradiated by a nonfocused electron beam. Monte-Carlo simulation results demonstrate that microstructured targets are very effective
to obtain microfocus X-rays. Moreover, the calculation results
show that certain morphologies of the microstructured targets
with optimized dimensions are promising in producing high Xray brightness. However, the microstructured targets are not capable of withstanding continuous heat loads. As a result, the utility of
the microstructured targets is limited to pulse operation. The proposed concept requires no focusing devices in order to obtain a
micrometer-sized X-ray focal spot, and thus, we believe that this
would be very useful for the realization of miniaturized microfocus
X-ray tubes.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the Korea Science and Engineering
Foundation (KOSEF) grant funded by the Korea Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) (No. 2008-03983).
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