Patent ID: 7085350

Claim:
An electron emitter assembly, comprising: a laser configured to emit a first light beam; an x-ray controller configured to generate a first signal and a second signal; a light-attenuating device operably communicating with the x-ray controller, the light-attenuating device configured to receive the first light beam, the light-attenuating device further configured to attenuate the first light beam to a first light intensity in response to the first signal, the light-attenuating device further configured to attenuate the first light beam to and a second light intensity greater than the first light intensity in response to the second signal; a photo-cathode configured to receive the first light beam from the light-attenuating device, the photo-cathode further configured to emit a first electron beam having a first power level in response to receiving the first light beam having the first light intensity, the photo-cathode further configured to emit a second electron beam having a second power level greater than the first power level in response to receiving the first light beam having the second light intensity; and an anode configured to receive the first and second electrons beams from the photo-cathode.