The copper in a stationary anode plays a dual role: 1. It supports the tungsten target. 2. It efficiently removes heat from the tungsten target. Copper acts as a heat sink, drawing heat away from the tungsten target to prevent it from overheating due to the energy deposited by bombarding electrons.

1. Production of x-
raysDr. Priyanka rana

2. X-ray Production
• The production of x-rays requires a rapidly moving stream of electrons that
are suddenly decelerated or stopped. The source of electrons is the cathode,
or negative electrode. Electrons are stopped or decelerated by the anode, or
positive electrode. Electrons move between the cathode and the anode
because there is a potential difference in charge between the electrodes.

4. X ray tubes
• The x-ray tube produces an environment for x-ray production via
bremsstrahlung and characteristic radiation mechanisms.
Major components are the cathode, anode, rotar/stator, glass (or metal)
envelope, and tube housing .
Electrons from the cathode filament are accelerated towards the anode by a
peak voltage ranging from 20,000 to 150,000 V (20 to 150 kVp).
The tube current is the rate of electron flow from the cathode to the anode,
measured in milliamperes (mA), where 1mA = 6.24 x 10*15 electrons/sec.

6. CATHODe
• Negatively charged electrode
• The source of electrons in the x ray tube is the cathode, which is a helical filament of tungsten wire
surrounded by a focusing cup.
• This structure is electrically connected to the filament circuit.
• The filament circuit provides a voltage upto about 10 V to the filament, producing a current up to
about 7 A through a filament.
• Electrical resistance heat the filament and releases the electrons via a process called thermionic
emission.
• The electrons liberated from the filament flow through the vacuum of the x ray tube, when a
positive voltage is placed on the anode with respect to the cathode.
• Adjustments in the filament current (and thus in the filament temperature) control the tube current.

7. • A trace of the thorium in the tungsten filament increases the
efficiency of the of electron emission and prolongs filament life.
• The focusing cup is also called the cathode block, surrounds the
filament and shapes the electron beam width.
• The voltage applied to the cathode block is typically the same as
applied to the filament. This shapes the line of the electrical potential
to focus the electron beam to produce a small interaction area (focal
spot) on the anode.
• Although the width of the focusing cup slot determines the focal
spot width, the filament length determines the focal spot length.
• X ray tube has two filaments for diagnostic imaging small and large
focal spot on the target.

8. • The filament current determines the filament temperature and thus the rate of the
thermoinic electron emission.
• As the electrical resistance to the filament current heats the filament, electrons are emitted
from its surface.
• When no voltage is applied between the anode and the cathode of the x ray tube, an
electron cloud, also called as space charge cloud, builds around the filament. Applying a
positive high voltage to the anode with respect to the cathode accelerates the electrons
towards the anode and produces a tube current.
• Small changes in the filament current can produces relatively large changes in the tube
current.
• The existence of the space charge cloud shields the electric field for tube voltage of 40 kVp
and lower, and only a portion of free electrons are instantaneously accelerated to the
anode. When this happens, the operation of the x-ray tube is space charge limited, which
places an upper limit on the tube current, regardless of the filament current. Above 4o kVp,
the space charge cloud effect is overcome by the applied potential difference and the tube
current is limited only by the emission of electrons from the filament. Therefore, the
filament current controls the tube current in a predictable way (emission limited operation).

9. ANODE
• Positively charged electrode
• There are two types of anodes : Stationary anode
Rotating anode
STATIONARY:
• The simplest type of the tube has the stationary (fixed) anode. It consist of tungsten insert imbedded in the
copper block .
• The copper act as a dual role: Its supports the tungsten target and it removes heat efficiently from the tungsten
target.
• Dental x ray unit, portable x ray machine and portable fluoroscopy systems use fixed anode x ray tube.
ROTATING:
• It is mostly used in the diagnostic x ray application, mainly because of their greater heat loading and
consequently higher x ray output capabilities.
• Electrons impart their energy on a continuously rotating target, spreading thermal energy over a large area and
a mass of the anode disc.
• A bearing mounted rotor assembly supports the anode disc within the evacuated x ray tube insert .

10. • X ray machines are designed so that the x ray tube will not be
energized if the anode is not upto full speed, this is the cause for
the short delay (1-2 seconds) when the x ray tube exposure
button is pushed.
• Rotor bearings are heat sensitive and are often the cause of the
x ray tube failure. Bearings are in the high-vaccum environment
of the insert and require special heat – insensitive , non volatile
lubricants.
• A molybdenum stem attaches the anode to the rotor/ bearing
assembly, because molybdenum is poor heat conductor and
reduces heat transfer from the anode to the bearings. Because
it is thermally isolated, the anode must be cooled by radiative
emission.

13. X-rays are produced by two main mechanisms and
come in two varieties –
characteristic and bremsstrahlung
SPECTRUM

14. bremsstrahlung
• The conversion of electron kinetic energy into electromagnetic radiation produces x ray.
• A Large voltage is applied between two electrodes (the cathode and the anode) in a
evacuated envelope. The cathode is negatively charged and is the source of electrons; the
anode is positively charged and is the target of electrons. As electrons from the cathode
travel to the anode, they are accelerated by the electrical potential difference between
these electrodes and attain kinetic energy.
• The kinetic energy gained by an electron is proportional to the potential difference
between the cathode and anode.
• On impact with the target, the kinetic energy of the electrons is converted to the other
form of energy. The vast majority of interactions produce unwanted heat by small
collisional energy exchange with electrons in the target. This intense heating limits the
number of x ray photons that can be produced in a given time without destroying the
target. Occasionally an electron comes within the proximity of a positively charged
nucleus in the target electrode.

16. • The columbic forces attract and decelerate the electron, causing a
significant loss of kinetic energy and a change in a electron’s trajectory. An
x ray photon with energy equal to the kinetic energy lost by the electron is
produced. This radiation is termed bremsstrahlung.
• The subatomic distance between the bombarding electron and the nucleus
determines the energy lost by each electron during the bremsstrahlung
process because the columbic force of attraction increases with the
inverse square of the interaction distance. At relatively large distances
from the nucleus , the columbic attraction force is weak. These encounters
produce low x ray energy.
• For closer interaction distances the force acting on the electron increases,
causing a more dramatic change in the electron’s trajectory and a larger
loss of energy; these encounters produce high x ray energy.
• A direct impact of an electron with the target nucleus results in loss of all
the electron’s kinetic energy.

17. • The probability of an electron’s directly impacting a nucleus is
extremely low, simply because at the atomic scale, the atom
comprises mainly empty “space” and the nuclear cross section is
very small. Therefore, lower x ray energies are generated in
greater abundance , and the number of higher energy x rays
decreases approximately linearly with energy upto the maximum
energy of the incident electrons.

19. characteristic
• Each electron in the target atom has a binding energy that depends on the shell in
which it resides.
• Closest to the nucleus are the two electrons in the K shell, which has the highest
binding energy. The L shell, with 8 electrons has the next highest binding energy,
and so forth.
• When the energy of an electron incident on the target exceeds the binding energy
of the electron of a target atom it is energetically possible for a collisional
interaction to eject the electron and ionize the atom.
• The unfilled shell is energetically unstable and an outer shell electron with less
binding energy will fill the vacancy. As this electron transitions to lower energy
state the excess energy can be released as a characteristic x ray photon with an
energy equal to the difference between the binding energies of the electron shell.

20. • Binding energies are unique to a given element, and so their
differences; consequently the emitted x rays have discrete
energies that are characteristic of that element.
• Many electron transitions can occur from adjacent and non
adjacent shells in the atom, giving rise to the several discrete
energy peaks superimposed on the continuous bremsstrahlung
spectrum. The most prevalent characteristic x ray in the
diagnostic energy range result from K shell vacancies, which are
filled by electrons from the L, M N shells.
• Characteristic K x rays are emitted only when the electrons
impinging on the target exceeds the binding energy of the K
shell electron.

24. QUESTION NO.1
• What is the role of copper in stationary anode?

25. • Its supports the tungsten target and it removes heat efficiently
from the tungsten target.