U.S. Philips Corporation

Innovicum Technology Ab

Rolf Behling

Mats Danielsson

Heinz-Jurgen Jacob

Lothar Weil

Wolfgang Koster

An X-ray source () comprise a microparticle source () configured to generate a particle stream () of spatially separated and moving, solid and/or liquid microparticles. The X-ray source () also comprises an electron source () configured to generate an electron beam () of electrons incident onto the particle stream () at an interaction region () to excite solid and/or liquid microparticles in the interaction region () to generate X-rays ().

Particle based X-ray source

The invention relates to an X-ray source, comprising a housing, an X-ray tube which is arranged therein and which is surrounded by a liquid insulating medium, and a temperature sensor for determining the temperature within the liquid insulating medium. A simple embodiment of the temperature sensor consists in that it comprises a measuring element which is in thermal contact with a spatial zone in the insulating medium and which assumes a uniform temperature which is dependent on the temperature distribution in the zone during operation of the X-ray source, and a temperature transducer which is thermally coupled to the measuring element and which generates an electric signal which is dependent on the temperature of the measuring element.

X-ray source comprising a temperature sensor

An anode of a rotary-anode X-ray tube is connected to a bearing portion which is rotatable about an axis of rotation and which cooperates with the stationary bearing portion in which there is provided a cavity which extends in the direction of the axis of rotation and whose side walls can be cooled by means of a cooling medium. Effective cooling, in combination with a small pressure drop of the cooling medium, is achieved in that there is provided a cooling member which serves to produce an essentially laminar cooling medium flow and which consists of a number of lamellae which extend essentially parallel to the axis and which are in thermal contact with the side walls of the cavity.

Rotary-anode X-ray tube comprising a cooling device

A rotary anode stem tube is secured to a bearing by a coupling arrangement including a nested body and shaft, the shaft being thermally conductively coupled to the stem tube and the body being thermally conductively coupled to the bearing. The body and shaft have a relatively large interface region in facing spacing relation. Different positions of the interface region engage in thermally conductive relation in accordance with the temperature of the stem tube to selectively increase the thermal conductivity of the shaft to the body and selectively decrease the cooling time of the stem tube without an unacceptable increase in the bearing temperature.

Rotary anode X-ray tube

An anode and a cathode are in an evacuated metal envelope comprising a radiation exit window and which carry a positive and a negative high voltage, respectively, with respect thereto during operation. The cathode, at its area which neighbors the radiation exit window, has a ridge segment which extends in the axial direction partially about the cathode filament. The segment shields the radiation exit window from the electrons emitted by the cathode to reduce heating of the window by the electrons.

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Norderstedt, Germany

Rolf Behling