Rotating cathode X-ray tubes (Rotating Anode X-Ray Tubes) are a high-precision X-ray source for medical and industrial imaging. As its name suggests, it consists of a rotating cathode and is one of the key elements of X-ray equipment.
A rotating cathode X-ray tube consists of a cathode, an anode, a rotor and a stator. The cathode is a metal rod that emits electrons thermoelectrically, and the anode is opposite to it and rotates around it. The anode is made of high thermal conductivity material and has water channels for cooling. The anode is usually made of a refractory metal such as tungsten, molybdenum, or platinum, which is resistant to heat and radiation damage from high-energy X-rays.
When the electron beam hits the surface of the cathode, the electrons are heated and released. These electrons are accelerated towards the anode, where they are decelerated and scattered, producing high-intensity X-ray radiation. The rotating anode evenly distributes the generated heat to the entire anode surface, and cools it through the water channel to ensure the stability and reliability of long-term use.
Rotating cathode X-ray tubes have many advantages, including high power, high-intensity X-ray radiation, high focusing current, high signal-to-noise ratio, ability to adapt to various imaging requirements, and long service life. Therefore, it is the X-ray source of choice in fields such as medical imaging, industrial CT flaw detection, and non-destructive testing.
In summary, a rotating cathode X-ray tube is a high-power, stable and reliable X-ray source that provides accurate, high-quality and high-resolution X-ray images for many different types of imaging applications.