X-RAY TUBE

The X-Ray Tube

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The source of the radiation is the x-ray tube which

is enclosed by the tube housing.
The design of the tube assembly may differ but its
construction is generally the same.
Remarkable are the two kind of horns which jut out
to one side. These are the connector sockets for
the high-tension cables.

Perpendicular to them is the x-ray window. The

flange on it is to fix a beam-limiting device.
The two centric rings around the housing serve to
attach a tube holder for mounting the tube
assembly to a column or table.
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1 Rotor with anode disc 2 Cathode
3 Filament supply leads 4 High tension outlet anode side
5 High tension outlet cathode side 6 Stator winding
7 Radiation window

8 Protective casing of the tube assembly

9 Expansion bellows

10 X-ray beam collimator

11+12 Lead plates to limit the radiation field

13 Useful x-ray beam

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In the cut housing you see the x-ray tube fixed in the centre. The anode side
sticks into the stator coil (6) for the rotating anode motor and is fastened in a
bayonet holder.
The tube is supplied via HT(High Tension) cables (4 + 5), which includes the
high tube voltage and filament current (3).
The collimator(10) limits the x-ray beam to the necessary image size to avoid
excessive irradiation of the patient.
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The innovations on x-ray tubes keep always abreast with the newest
technology. Even some of the basic principles changed since 1895 when
professor W. C. Roentgen started using x-rays.

The first tubes were gasfilled ones which used the glass envelope as the
target .The efficency was, of course, very poor and it took minutes to expose
a film correctly.

The tube on the right was one of the smallest ever produced and measured
just 6 cm in lenght . It had already an embedded Tungsten target
 X-RAY TUBE
The different tube types nowadays are closely
connected with the various medical applications.
Some examples shall clarify this:
1. Mammography diagnostic needs a special
radiation spectrum which cannot be produced with
normal x-ray tubes.As well, small x-ray sources
are necessary to reproduce even finest object
details.
2.; 3.; 4. Tubes for normal diagnostic application
5. A tube used for Computed Tomography (CT),
produced in the beginning of the 90th.

6. Examinations in Angiography ask for

tubes with very high heat storage
capacity - Megalix Cat - because of long
fluoroscopic times and serial exposures.
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Cathode and Filament Helix
To obtain x-rays high-speed electrons are needed which
bombard a target (anode). They are produced by heating-up
a tungsten wire (filament) so that it emits electrons.
Helix is called the spiral wire. It is mainly made out of
tungsten in x-ray tubes.

Another electron source is the flat emitter instead of a

helix.
It is used for modern Mammography tubes and allows a
better x-ray intensity distribution as with the spiral.
Therefore, the image quality increases.
The filament in this case is meander-shaped

The electrons form a cloud surrounding the

filament. They fall back to the helix as long as no
high tension accelerates them towards the anode
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The cathode (focusing cup) focuses the

electrons on the target when positive
High Tension attracts them towards the
anode

This picture shows a original cathode.

The filament or helix is visible in the so-
called focusing cup on the bottom
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· a small one with low output for better geometric

resolution (small filament)
· a larger filament for higher output capacity.

The arrangement of the two helixes depends

on the tube type.
The tubes vary as well in the form of their
focusing cup.
There are general differences which are
expressed in the tube names:
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S --- connection for Small filament
(focus)
C --- Common lead (cathode)
L --- supply for Large filamentFocus

T1 --- transformer for small focus

T2 --- transformer for large focus

Each filament of a double focus

tube needs its own supply.

Two specially isolated transformers T1, T2 in the high tension tank H1

separate the primary low voltage side from the secondary high tension (HT).
The HT is connected to common lead for both filaments and the focusing
cup. Both, filaments and focusing cup, perform the cathode. It lies on a
negative polarity in relation to ground.
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X-Ray window with lead cone
                            

Lead cones with different circular apertures