Monochromatic plasma x-ray generator and its applications

The constructions of a plasma flash x-ray generator having a cold-cathode radiation tube and its application to soft radiography are described. The x-ray generator employs a high- voltage power supply, a low-impedance coaxial transmission line with a gap switch, a high-voltage condenser with a capacity of 0.2 (mu) F, a turbo-molecular pump, a thyristor pulser as a trigger device, and a flash x-ray tube. The high- voltage main condenser is charged up to 60 kV by the power supply, and the electric charges in the condenser are discharged to the tube after triggering the cathode electrode. The flash x-rays are then produced. The x-ray tube is a demountable triode which is connected to the turbo molecular pump with a pressure of approximately 1 mPa. This tube consists of a rod-shaped carbon cathode, a trigger electrode made from a copper wire, a stainless-steel vacuum chamber, insulators, a polyethylene terephthalate x-ray window, and two anode electrodes (targets) of molybdenum and silver. The space between the anode and cathode electrodes had a constant value of approximately 20 mm, and the trigger electrode is set in the center of the cathode electrode. As the electron flows from the cathode electrode are roughly converged to the target by the electric field in the tube, the plasma x-ray source which consists of metal ions and electrons is produced by the target evaporating. Because the bremsstrahlung spectra are absorbed by the monochromatic filter, K-series characteristic x-rays are obtained. Both the tube voltage and current displayed damped oscillations, and their peak values increased according to increases in the charging voltage. In the present work, the peak tube voltage was almost equivalent to the initial charging voltage of the main condenser, and the peak current had a value of about 25 kA with a charging voltage of 60 kV. When the charging voltage was increased, the intensities of the K-series characteristic x-rays increased. Next, the intensities decreased as the monochromatic filter was inserted. Using this quasi-monochromatic plasma flash x- ray generator, we performed high-speed soft radiography with x-ray durations of about 1 microsecond.