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X-Ray Production for Engineers

X-rays are produced when high-energy electrons bombard a metal target in an X-ray tube. This causes the ejection of inner shell electrons from the metal atoms, which are then replaced by electrons from higher energy levels as they fall, emitting X-rays. There are two types of X-rays produced: Bremsstrahlung or braking radiation produced as electrons are decelerated, emitting a continuous spectrum; and characteristic X-rays emitted at discrete frequencies when electrons transition between atomic energy levels to fill vacancies.

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25 views21 pages

X-Ray Production for Engineers

X-rays are produced when high-energy electrons bombard a metal target in an X-ray tube. This causes the ejection of inner shell electrons from the metal atoms, which are then replaced by electrons from higher energy levels as they fall, emitting X-rays. There are two types of X-rays produced: Bremsstrahlung or braking radiation produced as electrons are decelerated, emitting a continuous spectrum; and characteristic X-rays emitted at discrete frequencies when electrons transition between atomic energy levels to fill vacancies.

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X-RAY Production

Prof. Yekta Ülgen.


Institute of Biomedical Engineering
BOGAZICI UNIVERSITY
Components of an X-ray System
X-ray Tube
 X-ray production typically involves bombarding a
metal target in an x-ray tube with high speed
electrons which have been accelerated by tens to
hundreds of kilovolts of potential.

 The bombarding electrons can eject electrons from


the inner shells of the atoms of the metal target.
Those vacancies will be quickly filled by electrons
dropping down from higher levels, emitting x-rays
with sharply defined frequencies associated with
the difference between the atomic energy levels of
the target atoms.
X-Rays

X-ray was the name given to the highly penetrating rays which
emanated when high energy electrons struck a metal target.
We now know that they are high frequency electromagnetic
rays which are produced when the electrons are suddenly
decelerated - these rays are called Brehmsstrahlung radiation,
or "braking radiation".

X-rays are also produced when electrons make transitions


between lower atomic energy levels in heavy elements. X-rays
produced in this way have have definite energies just like other
line spectra from atomic electrons. They are called
Characteristic X-rays since they have energies determined by
the atomic energy levels.
Events 1, 2, and 3 depict incident electrons interacting in the vicinity of the
target nucleus, resulting in Bremsstrahlung production caused by the
deceleration and change of momentum, with the emission of a continuous
energy spectrum of x-ray photons.
Brehmsstrahlung X-Rays
"Brehmsstrahlung" means "braking radiation" and is
retained from the original German to describe the
radiation which is emitted when electrons are decelerated
or "braked" when they are fired at a metal target.
Accelerated charges give off electromagnetic radiation,
and when the energy of the bombarding electrons is high
enough, that radiation is in the X-ray region of the
electromagnetic spectrum.

It is characterized by a continuous distribution of radiation


which becomes more intense and shifts toward higher
frequencies when the energy of the bombarding electrons
is increased.
Characteristic X-Rays
X-Ray Energy Spectrum after Filtration
Characteristic x-rays are emitted from heavy
elements when their electrons make transitions
between the lower atomic energy levels.

The characteristic x-rays emission which shown as


two sharp peaks in the illustration at left occur when
vacancies are produced in the n=1 or K-shell of the
atom and electrons drop down from above to fill the
gap.

The x-rays produced by transitions from the n=2 to


n=1 levels are called K-alpha X-rays, and those for
the n=3 to n=1 transitions are called K-beta X-rays.
When the square root of the frequencies of the
Characteristic x-rays from the elements is plotted against
the atomic number, a straight line is obtained.

In his early 20's, Moseley measured and plotted the x-ray


frequencies for about 40 of the elements of the periodic
table.

He showed that the K-alpha x-rays followed a straight


line when the atomic number Z versus the square root of
frequency was plotted.
The Electromagnetic Spectrum

.
 With the insights gained from the Bohr model,
we can write his empirical relationship as
follows:

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