HIGH POWER MICROFOCUS X-RAY TUBE FOR REAL TIME AND COMPUTERIZED INSPECTION

A SUCCESSFUL COMPLETED SBIR PHASE I PROGRAM DEMONSTRATED A NEW CLASS OF LIQUID COOLED X-RAY TUBE ANODE HEAT EXCHANGE SURFACES SUITABLE FOR USE IN LIQUID COOLED HIGH POWER MICROFOCUS ROTATING ANODE X-RAY TUBES. SUCH A CONTINUOUS DUTY TUBE CAN BE EXPECTED TO HAVE ABOUT 20 X MORE POWER THAN CURRENTLY USED FIXED ANODE TUBES. IN GENERAL, THIS POWER INCREASE TRANSLATES DIRECTLY INTO ABOUT A 20 X INCREASE IN SYSTEM THROUGHPUT FOR COMPUTERIZED AND FILM INSPECTION TECHNIQUES AND HIGH THROUGHPUT AND SUPERIOR IMAGES (INCREASED COUNTING STATISTICS FOR IMPROVED CONTRAST) FOR REAL TIME BLADE OR MOTOR INSPECTION SYSTEMS. THIS PHASE I PROGRAM WILL DEVELOP AND DEMONSTRATE A LONG-LIVED (500 HR. MINIMUM) MICROFOCUS ELECTRON GUN SUITABLE FOR HIGH KV (200300 KV) ANALOG AT A SCALED VOLTAGE CONSISTANT WITH FIXED ANODE USE. THE GOAL OF THE PHASE I PROGRAM IS TO DEVELOP AN ELECTRON GUN WHICH WILL PROVIDE 14MA INTO A 0.2MM MICRO FOCAL SPOT. THE ELECTRON GUN WILL BE CAPABLE OF DEVELOPING A POWER LEVEL OF 2,000 WATTS (20 DEG TARGET ANGLE) OR 3,000 WATTS (13 DEG TARGET ANGLE) AT MAXIMUM 300 KV OPERATION.