Patent ID: 6493421
Filing Date: 2002-12-10
Classification: G21K,H01J,H05G

Abstract:
An X-ray source for delivering X-rays along an optical axis with a predefined energy, intensity and spatial distribution to a desired region of a sample, comprising:a linear accelerator with a thin anode having a thickness less than or equal to about 50 microns that creates a conical spatial distribution characterized by an angle less than of plus or minus 5 degrees in relation to the optical axis for X-rays with an energy below 110 keV and an electron trap that deflects and absorbs an electron beam that penetrates through the thin anode; and conditioning optics which shape, direct and monochromatize the X-rays that emerge from the thin anode by cutting a narrow line from a continuous spectrum in the region of the spectrum below 110 keV.