X-ray Tube

Notebook #11

Laura Ramirez
December 7, 2016
RTE 141
Professor Yost

The Cathode Assembly:

-The cathode is the negative side of the x-ray tube. The function of the cathode is to produce a
thermionic cloud, conduct the high voltage to the gap between cathode and anode, and focus the
electron stream as it heads for the anode. The cathode is a complex device and is referred to as the
cathode assembly. This assembly consists of the filament or filaments, focusing cup, and associated
wiring.
-The filament is a small coil of thin thoriated tungsten wire. The wire is about 0.1-0.2 mm thick and the
coil 1-2 mm wide by 7-15 mm long. It is in the cathode assembly within the focusing cup. Tungsten is the
material of choice because its high melting point and because of its difficult to vaporize and turn into
gas.
-Most diagnostic x-ray tubes have dual filaments called dual focus arrangements. The wiring for dual
filaments does not require separate ground conductors. Instead a common ground is used.
-Not all of the electrons that are thermionically emitted from the filament are driven to the anode or
return to the filament. One of the majors cause of tube failure is breaking of the filament itself.
Filaments become increasingly thin as vaporization continues. Most tube manufacturers recommend
that two-step exposure switches be fully depressed in on motion.
-The focusing cup is a shallow depression in the cathode assembly designed to house the filament. It is
made of nickel and its perpose is to narrow the thermionic cloud as it is driven toward the anode.
Because electrons all posses negative charges, their tendency is diverge rather than to travel in straight
lines. Most x-ray tubes have the focusing cup at the same potential as the filament.
Saturation current is another filament phenomenon that affects the efficiency of the x-ray tube. As kVp
increases, a greater percentage of the thermionically emitted electrons are driven toward the anode.
The Anode Assembly:
-The anode is the positive side of the x-ray tube and has three functions: it serves as a target surface for
the high-voltage electrons from the filament, thereby becoming the source of the x-ray photons; it
conducts the high voltage from the cathode back into the x-ray generator circuitry; and it serves as the
primary thermal conductor. The entire anode is a complex device referred to as the anode assembly.
This consists of the anode, stator, and rotor, and serves as the path for the high-voltage flow during
exposure.
-The anode is divided into two types: stationary and rotating. Rotating anodes, developed in 1936, turn
during the exposure, thus presenting a much larger target area. The anode is composed of several
different metals, each designed to contribute the maxium to the overall function of the anode.
Stationary anodes are composed of rhenium-alloyed tungsten imbeded in a 45 degree angled end of a
copper rod. Tungsten is the metal of choice for the source of x-ray photons for three primary reasons:
High atomic number, high melting point, and heat-conducting ability.
-The portion of the anode where the high-voltage electron stream will impact is called by various names:
the target, the focus, the focal point , the focal spot, or the focal track. In addition, the term actual
focal spot is used to describe the area of the focal spot track that is impacted. The term effective focal

spot is used to describe the area of the focal spot that is projected out of the tube toward the object
being radiographed.
-The induction-motor electromagnets comprise the stator that turns the anode. The stator is the only
part of the cathode or anode assemblies that is located outside the vaccum of the envolope.
-The rotor is located inside the stator and inside the envelope. It is composd of a hollow copper cylinder
cuff that is attached to the anode disk by a molybdeum shaft.
-The entire cathode assembly and all of the anode assembly except the sator are enclosed within a glass
or metal envelope commonly called the tube. Metal envelopes are increasingly becoming more
common.