Chapter 5
The X-ray Tube
Introduction
The radiographer is
responsible for the
safe operation and
proper maintenance
of the x-ray unit.
Appropriate
operation and
maintenance stems
from the knowledge
of how it works.
2
General Tube Construction: Housing
(1 of 2)
A protective housing
provides solid
mechanical support.
Lead-lined structure
Oil bath
Cooling fans
Electrical insulation
Large cables
Absorbs stray
photons
3
General Tube Construction: Housing
(2 of 2)
Two notes of caution:
The housing can become rather hot with continuous
use.
The high-voltage cables should not be used as
handles to maneuver the tube head assembly.
4
X-ray Tube (1 of 2)
The general-purpose
x-ray tube is an
electronic vacuum
tube that consists of
the following:
An anode
A cathode
An induction motor
Encased in a glass or
metal enclosure
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X-ray Tube (2 of 2)
The main purpose of the enclosure is to maintain a
vacuum within the tube to prevent electrical arcing.
There are two varieties:
The glass envelope variety is generally made of made of
borosilicate glass because it is heat resistant.
The metal envelope variety provides a constant electric potential
between the electron stream from the cathode and the
enclosure, thereby avoiding the arcing problem and extending
tube life.
Both types have a specially designed target window for the
desired exit point of the x-rays produced.
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Anode (1 of 11)
The anode is the positive end of the tube.
It provides the target for electron interaction to
produce x-rays.
It serves as an electrical and thermal conductor.
Some of the electrons interact with the target to
produce x-rays and the rest continue on as
current flows through the x-ray circuit.
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Anode (2 of 11)
Stationary anode
A tungsten button
embedded in a
copper rod
The target does not
move.
Disadvantage: the
rapidly building heat
can damage the
tube, which limits
use
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Anode (3 of 11)
Rotating anode
A rotating tungsten-
coated molybdenum
disc mounted on a
copper shaft with a
molybdenum core
Advantage: the
rotating anode
spreads the heat
produced during x-
ray production over a
larger surface area
9
Anode (4 of 11)
Materials
Copper: used as part of the shaft because it has
excellent thermal and electrical conductive properties.
Molybdenum: used as the disc base and core
because it has a low thermal conductivity and it is a
light but strong alloy.
Tungsten: used because it has a very high melting
point and a high atomic number (74), improving the
efficiency of x-ray production.
• Rhenium: may be added to the tungsten to increase thermal
capacity and tensile strength.
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Anode (5 of 11)
The anode is rotated using an induction motor.
The two major parts of this motor are the stator
and the rotor.
The stator is made up of electromagnets arranged in
pairs around the rotor.
The rotor is made of an iron core (iron bars
embedded in the copper shaft) surrounded by coils.
11
Anode (6 of 11)
The induction motor is operated through mutual
induction.
The stators are energized in opposing pairs and
induce an electric current and magnetic field.
This induced field opposes that of the stator pair and
the rotor turns to correct that orientation.
Just as the two fields align, the next pair of stators is
energized and a new electric current and magnetic
field are induced, causing the rotor to turn again.
This process causes the rotor to turn continuously.
12
Anode (7 of 11)
An induction motor allows for the rotation of the
anode in a vacuum without engineering a motor
into the vacuum.
Capable of speeds of 3400 revolutions per minute
(rpm) for general-purpose tubes and 10,000 rpms for
specialty tubes
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Anode (8 of 11)
Line-focus principle
By angling the face
of the anode target,
a large actual focal
spot size can be
maintained and a
small effective focal
spot size can be
created.
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Anode (9 of 11)
When the angle of the target face is less than 45
degrees, the effective focal spot will be smaller
than the actual.
The target angles are 7 to 18 degrees for a
general-purpose tube (12 degrees is the most
common).
The smaller the anode angle, the smaller the
effective focal spot will be while maintaining a
large actual focal spot area.
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Anode (10 of 11)
The smaller the effective focal spot, the sharper
the image will be.
16
Anode (11 of 11)
Anode heel effect
The angle causes
the intensity of the
x-ray beam to be
less on the anode
side because some
of the x-rays are
absorbed in the
target heel.
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Cathode (1 of 3)
Cathode
The negative end of
the tube
Provides the source
of electrons needed
for x-ray production
• Made up of the
filaments and the
focusing cup
18
Cathode (2 of 3)
Dual-focus tubes
General-purpose tubes with two filaments
Filaments
Each filament is a coil of wire usually 7 to15 mm long
and 1 to 2 mm wide.
They are usually made of tungsten with 1% to 2%
thorium added.
The filaments are parallel to one another in the
focusing cup and share a common ground wire.
19
Cathode (3 of 3)
Focusing cup
Made of nickel and surrounds the filaments’ back and
sides, leaving the front open and facing the anode
target
Receives a strong negative charge from the
secondary circuit that forces the electrons together
into a cloud as they are boiled off of the filament
through electrostatic repulsion
20
Principles of Operation (1 of 6)
At the operating console, the radiographer
selects the desired exposure factors.
When the exposure switch is first pressed, some
of the electricity is diverted to the induction
motor of the x-ray tube to bring the rotor up to
speed.
Inside the x-ray tube, the induction motor turns
the anode at approximately 3400 rpm.
The selected filament is energized until the
desired thermionic emission is achieved.
21
Principles of Operation (2 of 6)
The second phase initiates the x-ray production
process.
The process from rotor preparation to exposure
lasts only a few seconds.
The actual exposure is measured in
milliseconds.
When the exposure switch is pressed, the
voltage from the autotransformer passes to the
step-up transformer.
22
Principles of Operation (3 of 6)
The voltage then passes through a rectifier bank
before passing to the anode and cathode of the
x-ray tube.
During the preparation phase, some power from
the autotransformer was diverted to the filament
circuit where it passes through a rheostat to a
step-down transformer, then to the selected
filament within the cathode focusing cup.
23
Principles of Operation (4 of 6)
The current heats the filament to the point of
incandescence and electrons are boiled off of
the filament by thermionic emission.
The focusing cup forms them into a cloud called
a space charge.
Once the space charge reaches a size
commensurate with the current used, it becomes
difficult for additional electrons to be emitted; this
is called the space-charge effect.
24
Principles of Operation (5 of 6)
The three things needed to produce x-rays are
now present:
A large potential difference to give kinetic energy to
the filament electrons (provided by kVp)
A vehicle on which kinetic energy can ride (a quantity
of electrons provided by mAs)
A place for interaction (the target of the anode)
25
Principles of Operation (6 of 6)
As they penetrate
the target surface,
filament electrons
interact with the
atoms of tungsten,
generating heat and
x-rays.
26
Quality Control and Extending Tube
Life (1 of 4)
Most of the factors that can shorten x-ray tube
life are within the radiographer’s control:
Frequent use of very high or maximum exposure
factors
Use of lower but very long exposure factors
Overloading the filament
27
Quality Control and Extending Tube
Life (2 of 4)
Three processes of heat transfer are at play:
Conduction of heat by heat-tolerant materials
Radiation of heat energy from anode to oil bath
Convection of heat into the room by cooling fans
Protective circuits prevent the use of unsafe
exposure techniques and heat overloads.
Even with safety measures, the radiographer
must understand anode thermal capacity and
keep in mind that x-ray production is an
inefficient process.
28
Quality Control and Extending Tube
Life (3 of 4)
Heat units
A measure of the amount of heat stored in a particular
device
Calculated by multiplying kVp mA s c
If multiple exposures are made using a given
technique, the answer from this formula is multiplied
by the number of exposures
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Quality Control and Extending Tube
Life (4 of 4)
To extend tube life, simple procedures and
guidelines should be followed.
Follow the machine-specific warm-up steps
completely and routinely.
Do not prep the rotor excessively.
Do not routinely use extremes of exposure factors.
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