Various systems and methods are provided for a biased cathode assembly of an X-ray tube with improved thermal management and a method of manufacturing same. In one example, a cathode assembly of an X-ray tube comprises an emitter assembly including an emitter coupled to an emitter support structure, and an electrode assembly including an electrode stack and a plurality of bias electrodes. The emitter assembly including a plurality of independent components that are coupled together. The electrode assembly including a plurality of independent components that are coupled together, and the emitter assembly being coupled to the electrode assembly.

Various systems and methods are provided for a biased cathode assembly of an X-ray tube with improved thermal management and a method of manufacturing same. In one example, a cathode assembly of an X-ray tube comprises an emitter assembly including an emitter coupled to an emitter support structure, and an electrode assembly including an electrode stack and a plurality of bias electrodes. The emitter assembly including a plurality of independent components that are coupled together. The electrode assembly including a plurality of independent components that are coupled together, and the emitter assembly being coupled to the electrode assembly.

Various systems and methods are provided for a biased cathode assembly of an X-ray tube with improved thermal management and a method of manufacturing same. In one example, a cathode assembly of an X-ray tube comprises an emitter assembly including an emitter coupled to an emitter support structure, and an electrode assembly including an electrode stack and a plurality of bias electrodes. The emitter assembly including a plurality of independent components that are coupled together. The electrode assembly including a plurality of independent components that are coupled together, and the emitter assembly being coupled to the electrode assembly.

Systems and methods are provided for improving thermal management strategies of a cathode assembly of an X-ray tube. In one embodiment, an X-ray tube comprises an anode assembly and a cathode assembly, wherein the cathode assembly includes one or more elements that include an internal porous section for controlling a flow of heat within the cathode assembly during operation of the X-ray tube. In this way, heat conduction to temperature sensitive aspects of the cathode assembly may be reduced, while enabling sufficient heat transfer to other parts of the cathode assembly to minimize deformation.

Various systems are provided for a cathode of an X-ray imaging system. In one example, a shield assembly for a cathode comprises a first shield part and a second shield part, the first shield part and the second shield part spaced apart such that the first shield part and the second shield part are not in direct physical contact.

An X-ray tube includes a tube body that encloses a tube volume in a gas-tight manner. An emitter electrode, a gate electrode, and an anode are arranged within the tube volume. The emitter electrode is an unheated electrode having emitter needles in an area facing the gate electrode, which are themselves arranged on a substrate. The arrangement of the emitter electrode and the gate electrode are coordinated such that applying an emission voltage between the emitter electrode and the gate electrode causes electrons to be emitted from the multitude of emitter needles due to the resulting electrical field. The gate electrode is connected with thermal conductivity via a connecting element to a heat sink arranged outside the tube volume.