Patent ID: 8121258

Claim:
A device to deliver an X-ray beam at energies greater than 4 keV, comprising: an X-ray source ( 10 ) comprising an electron gun ( 111 ) adapted to generate a continuous beam of electrons onto a target region ( 121 ) of an anode ( 12 ) for X-ray emission by the anode ( 12 ), wherein said anode ( 12 ) forms a solid of revolution of a diameter between 100 and 250 millimeters, and is fixedly connected to a motor shaft ( 16 ) so that it is driven in rotation by a rotation system ( 15 ),and the electron gun ( 111 ) and the anode ( 12 ) are arranged in a vacuum chamber ( 13 ), said chamber ( 13 ) comprising an exit window ( 14 ) to transmit an X-ray beam emitted by the anode ( 12 ) outside of the chamber ( 13 ), conditioning means ( 20 ) to condition the X-ray beam emitted through the exit window, the conditioning means comprising an X-ray optic ( 20 ) adapted to condition the X-ray beam emitted with a two-dimensional optic effect, wherein: the electron gun ( 111 ) is designed to emit an electron beam of a power less than 400 watts, and comprises means ( 112 ) to focus said electron beam on the target region ( 121 ) in a substantially elongate shape defined by a small dimension (v) and a large dimension (W), wherein the small dimension (v) is comprised between 10 and 30 micrometers and the large dimension (W) is 3 to 20 times greater than the small dimension (v), the rotating anode ( 12 ) comprises an emission cooling system ( 124 ) to evacuate, by radiation, part of the energy transmitted by the electron beam to the anode, the rotation system ( 15 ) comprises a motor with magnetic bearings designed to set the rotating anode ( 12 ) in rotation at a speed of more than 20,000 rpm, and the exit window ( 14 ) is arranged so as to transmit an X-ray beam emitted by the anode ( 12 ) so that the X-ray beam emitted towards the conditioning means ( 20 ) is defined by a substantially point-size focal spot of dimension substantially corresponding to the small dimension (v) of the shape of the target region.