We present a micro-x-ray fluorescence (XRF) system having a high-brightness x-ray illumination system with high x-ray flux and high flux density. The higher brightness is achieved in part by using x-ray target designs that comprise a number of microstructures of x-ray generating materials fabricated in close thermal contact with a substrate having high thermal conductivity. This allows for bombardment of the targets with higher electron density or higher energy electrons, which leads to greater x-ray flux. The high brightness/high flux x-ray source may then be coupled to an x-ray optical system, which can collect and focus the high flux x-rays to spots that can be as small as one micron, leading to high flux density at the fluorescent sample. Such systems may be useful for a variety of applications, including mineralogy, trace element detection, structure and composition analysis, metrology, as well as forensic science and diagnostic systems.

We present a micro-x-ray fluorescence (XRF) system having a high-brightness x-ray illumination system with high x-ray flux and high flux density. The higher brightness is achieved in part by using x-ray target designs that comprise a number of microstructures of x-ray generating materials fabricated in close thermal contact with a substrate having high thermal conductivity. This allows for bombardment of the targets with higher electron density or higher energy electrons, which leads to greater x-ray flux. The high brightness/high flux x-ray source may then be coupled to an x-ray optical system, which can collect and focus the high flux x-rays to spots that can be as small as one micron, leading to high flux density at the fluorescent sample. Such systems may be useful for a variety of applications, including mineralogy, trace element detection, structure and composition analysis, metrology, as well as forensic science and diagnostic systems.

An anode with a linear main direction of extent for an x-ray device, has an anode body and a focal track layer, which is connected to the anode body in a material-bonding manner on a focal track layer volume portion of the anode body. At least one cooling channel for the cooling of the anode body and the focal track layer is arranged in the interior of the anode body and at least the focal track layer volume portion is formed of a material with at least a basic matrix of refractory metal. The focal track layer volume portion extends as far as to the cooling channel.

A composite target is provided and is interacted with an electron to generate an X-ray, and an energy of the electron can be changed by controlling a tube voltage at least. The composite target includes a target body and an interposing layer which is connected with the target body. The interposing layer moves a highest peak of an energy spectrum of the X-ray toward a high energy direction. The interposing layer may be a single metal or a metal mixture. Not only a low energy photon of the X-ray can be filtered by the interposing layer, but also a distribution of the low energy photon of the X-ray can be increased by increasing a thickness of the interposing layer. As the tube voltage is enhanced, an amount of a high energy photon of the X-ray generated is dramatically increased. An X-ray tube containing the above composite target is also provided.

A compact source for high brightness x-ray generation is disclosed. The higher brightness is achieved through electron beam bombardment of multiple regions aligned with each other to achieve a linear accumulation of x-rays. This may be achieved by aligning discrete x-ray sub-sources, or through the use of x-ray targets that comprise microstructures of x-ray generating materials fabricated in close thermal contact with a substrate with high thermal conductivity. This allows heat to be more efficiently drawn out of the x-ray generating material, and in turn allows bombardment of the x-ray generating material with higher electron density and/or higher energy electrons, leading to greater x-ray brightness. The orientation of the microstructures allows the use of an on-axis collection angle, allowing the accumulation of x-rays from several microstructures to be aligned to appear to have a single origin, also known as zero-angle x-ray radiation.

A production method for producing an anode for a cold cathode X-ray source, including the following steps: producing an element referred to as target from a first material adapted to generating X-rays from the absorption of an electron beam, the first material having a first thermal expansion coefficient Ce,1(Tu) at a predetermined temperature Tu of use of the anode in the X-ray source, producing an element referred to as target support from a second material having a second thermal expansion coefficient Ce,2(Tu) at the predetermined temperature Tu, joining the target to the target support by hard soldering using a solder material at a soldering temperature higher than the predetermined temperature Tu and higher than a melting point of the solder material, so as to form a film of solder interposed between the target and the target support.

Disclosed are systems and methods for X-ray imaging of a patient's breast using optimized iodine contrast-enhanced energy-subtraction mammography (CEESM). The disclosed technology employs an X-ray tube design that uses as the X-ray target materials foils of tellurium and cerium to optimize the radiographic contrast of an iodinated contrast agent. Radiographic contrast produced by the CEESM technique is shown to be approximately 5 times higher than produced by currently existing comparable clinical techniques.

An X-ray tube includes: a vacuum envelope including an insulating valve having a first end portion and a second end portion, and a metal portion joined to the first end portion; an electron gun held at the first end portion via the metal portion in the vacuum envelope and emitting electrons; and a target held at the second end portion and generating X-rays by receiving the electrons emitted from the electron gun. A ratio C defined by the following Formula (1) is 55% or more at the first end portion,

[00001]$\begin{array}{cc}C=100\left(\left[K\right]+\left[R_1\right]+\left[R_2\right]\right)/\left[\mathrm{Na}\right].& \left(1\right)\end{array}$

In the Formula (1), [Na] represents a content (atom %) of sodium, [K] represents a content (atom %) of potassium, [R.sub.1] represents a content (atom %) of an alkali metal element having an atomic number larger than that of potassium, and [R.sub.2] represents a content (atom %) of an alkaline earth metal element.

A system includes a stage for supporting a sample having at least first and second atomic elements. The first atomic element has a first characteristic x-ray line with a first energy and the second atomic element has a second characteristic x-ray line with a second energy, the first and second energies lower than 8 keV and separated from one another by less than 1 keV. The system further includes an x-ray source of x-rays having a third energy between the first and second energies and at least one x-ray optic configured to receive and focus at least some of the x-rays as an x-ray beam to illuminate the sample. The system further includes at least one x-ray detector configured to detect fluorescence x-rays produced by the sample in response to being irradiated by the x-ray beam.

At least some example embodiments relate to an X-ray rotating anode, an X-ray tube and an X-ray emitter. The inventive X-ray rotating anode has a carrier including at least one of molybdenum or a molybdenum alloy; a first focal path on the carrier; and a second focal path on the carrier, wherein at least one of the first focal path or the second focal path comprises at least one of tungsten or rhenium, at least one of the first focal path or the second focal path are embodied on the carrier via a vacuum plasma spraying (VPS) coating method, and the first focal path and the second focal path are distanced from one another via an intermediate section in the carrier between the first focal path and the second focal path.