Patent ID: 7436931
Filing Date: 2008-10-14
Classification: H01J

Abstract:
1. An X-ray source comprising: an electron source for emission of electrons in an electron beam, a target for emission of characteristic, substantially monochromatic X-rays in response to incidence of the electrons of the electron beam onto said target, said target comprising a metal foil of a thickness of between one and three μm and a base arrangement for carrying said metal foil, wherein the metal foil thickness of between one and three μm is smaller than or equal to an electron diffusion depth and for which less than twenty percent (<20%) of electron energy is deposited in the metal foil, wherein the metal of said metal foil has a high atomic number allowing the generation of high intensity bremsstrahlung X-rays in a direction of transmission of the electron beam and generation of low intensity bremsstrahlung X-rays in a direction of reflection from said target and the material substantially included in the base arrangement has a low atomic number not allowing the generation of X-rays, and an outcoupling means, which generally only transmits X-rays propagating in the reflection direction of the metal foil over an angular range of ±20° antiparallel to the incident direction of the electron beam, for outcoupling a background of the low-intensity bremsstrahlung X-rays on which quasi-monochromatic characteristic lines of the metal foil are superimposed resulting in a quasi-monochromatic spectrum of X-rays on the side of the metal foil on which the electrons are incident and which is opposite to the side of the base arrangement.