X-ray source downscaling enabled by combining microfabricated electrodes with carbon nanotube cold electron emitters

[Display omitted] •A concept for a miniaturized X-ray source based on nanotube field emitters is presented.•A demonstrator set-up for the X-ray source device was developed.•The electron field emission was characterized in the device.•The generation of X-rays is demonstrated. This work reports on the...

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Veröffentlicht in:Microelectronic engineering 2014-06, Vol.122, p.13-19
Hauptverfasser: Kottler, Christian, Longtin, Rémi, Giudice, Sandra, Jose-James, Rony, Niedermann, Philippe, Neels, Antonia, Kaufmann, Rolf, Sanchez-Valencia, Juan Ramon, Elsener, Hans Rudolf, Gröning, Oliver, Leinenbach, Christian, Gröning, Pierangelo, Dommann, Alex
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:[Display omitted] •A concept for a miniaturized X-ray source based on nanotube field emitters is presented.•A demonstrator set-up for the X-ray source device was developed.•The electron field emission was characterized in the device.•The generation of X-rays is demonstrated. This work reports on the development and the experimental proof of a novel concept of miniaturized X-ray source. This concept is based on microsystems technology and carbon nanotube electron field emitters. Thereby, unseen features such as fast switching and reduced imaging time will be enabled in future applications, such as, for instance, static computed tomography. In this work we describe the fabrication, assembly, and testing of micro-fabricated electrodes and carbon nanotube cold cathodes, based on a new design concept, to be packaged in a miniaturized X-ray source. The source design concept was experimentally validated. X-rays were generated with a total current of up to 4μA extracted from the cathode and an acceleration voltage of 3.1kV. The total current collected on the anode was 0.2–0.4μA which thus corresponds to a collection efficiency on the anode of approx. 10%. The components were assembled and operated in a high vacuum chamber at
ISSN:0167-9317
1873-5568
DOI:10.1016/j.mee.2014.03.010