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Chap02CX RayProduction

The document provides an overview of X-ray production, detailing the atomic structure, including protons, neutrons, and electrons, as well as the processes of characteristic radiation and Bremsstrahlung. It explains how X-rays are generated in an x-ray tube and the factors influencing beam intensity, such as kilovoltage peak (kVp) and target material. Additionally, the document discusses the energy levels of electrons and the concept of binding energy in relation to X-ray production.

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2 views20 pages

Chap02CX RayProduction

The document provides an overview of X-ray production, detailing the atomic structure, including protons, neutrons, and electrons, as well as the processes of characteristic radiation and Bremsstrahlung. It explains how X-rays are generated in an x-ray tube and the factors influencing beam intensity, such as kilovoltage peak (kVp) and target material. Additionally, the document discusses the energy levels of electrons and the concept of binding energy in relation to X-ray production.

Uploaded by

Bid R
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Resident

Resident Physics
Physics Lectures
Lectures

• Christensen, Chapter 2C

Production of
X-Rays
George David
Associate Professor
Department of Radiology
Medical College of Georgia
The
The Atomic
Atomic Nucleus
Nucleus

+
• Protons + +
+ Charges
# protons = atomic # (Z)

• Neutrons ~ ~
 No charge
~
 Mass about the same as proton

Atomic Weight(mass)= # protons + # neutrons


* kVp
kVp == kilovolts
kilovolts peak
peak
• peak kilovoltage applied
across x-ray tube kVp

• voltage applied across


x-ray tube pulses and Single Phase

varies
 single phase
 three phase
kVp

Three Phase
keV
keV == kilo-electron
kilo-electron volt
volt
• energy of an electron
• Kinetic energy
• Higher energy electron
moves faster +
• Electrons can be
manipulated by electric
fields
 Accelerated
 Steered
Orbital
Orbital Electrons
Electrons
• Electrons
- charges
very small mass compared with protons /
neutrons
• Electrons reside only at certain
energy levels or Shells L
K
Designations start at K shell
-
K shell closest to nucleus
~ +
L shell next closest ~ +
Shells proceed up from K, L, M, N, etc. + ~
Except for K shell, all shells contain sub-shells
-
-
Binding
Binding Energy
Energy
• energy required to remove orbital
electron from atom
• Negative electrons attracted to L
positive nucleus K
-
• more binding energy for shells ~ +
~ +
closer to nucleus + ~
 K shell has highest binding force
-
• higher atomic # materials (higher Z) -

result in more binding energy


 more positive charge in nucleus
Electron
Electron Shells
Shells (cont.)
(cont.)

• Electrons can only reside in a


shell
 electron has exactly the energy associated with
its shell
 electrons attempt to reside in lowest available
energy shell L
K
-
~ +
~ +
+ ~
-
-
-
*
The
The Shell
Shell Game
Game
• Electrons can move from shell to
shell
• to move to higher energy shell
requires energy input equal to
difference between shells
L
K Requires
energy
- input!
~ + -
~ +
+ ~

-
-
The
The Shell
Shell Game
Game (cont.)
(cont.)
• to move to a lower energy shell
requires the release of energy
equal to the difference between
shells
 characteristic x-rays
L
K
-
~ +
~ +
+ ~
Energy
released - -
-
X-Ray
X-Ray Production(cont.)
Production(cont.)
• X-Rays are
produced in the
x-ray tube by
two distinct
processes
 Characteristic
radiation
 Bremsstrahlung
Characteristic
Characteristic Radiation
Radiation
• Occurs whenever electrons L
drop into lower shell K
-
• Inner shell has lower energy ~ +
~ +
state + ~

• Energy difference between - -


-
shells emitted as
characteristic x-ray
 0-28% of total x-ray beam energy
Characteristic
Characteristic Radiation
Radiation
• High speed electron
from cathode slams +
into target knocking
out inner shell orbital
electron L
• orbital electron K
-
removed from atom ~ +
~ +
• electrons from higher + ~
energy shells cascade
down to fill vacancies - -
-
• Characteristic x-rays
emitted.
Characteristic
Characteristic Radiation
Radiation
• Consists only of discrete x-ray
energies corresponding to
energy difference between
L
electron shells of target
K
• Specific energies are -
characteristic of target material ~ +
~ +
• for tungsten 59 keV + ~

corresponds to the difference - -


in energy between K and L -
shells
Characteristic
Characteristic Radiation
Radiation (cont.)
(cont.)
• threshold energy
required for incident
electron (from cathode)
to eject orbital electron =
L
electron’s binding
energy -
K

~ +
~ +
+ ~

-
Bremsstrahlung
Bremsstrahlung
• interaction of moving electron with
nucleus of target atoms
• Positive nucleus causes moving
electron to change speed / direction
• Kinetic energy lost
• Emitted in form of Bremsstrahlung x-ray
L
K
-
~ +
~ +
+ ~

- -
-
Bremsstrahlung
Bremsstrahlung (cont.)
(cont.)
• Bremsstrahlung means braking
radiation
• Moving electrons have many
Bremsstrahlung reactions
» small amount of energy lost with each

L
K
-
~ +
~ +
+ ~

- -
-
Bremsstrahlung
Bremsstrahlung (cont.)
(cont.)
• Energy lost by moving electron is
random & depends on
 distance from nucleus
 charge (Z) of nucleus

• Bremsstrahlung Energy Spectrum


0 - peak kilovoltage (kVp) applied to x-ray tube
 most x-ray photons low energy
 lowest energy photons don’t escape tube
» easily filtered by tube enclosures or added filtration
Beam
Beam Intensity
Intensity

• Product of
 # photons in beam
 energy per photon

• Units
 Roentgens (R) per unit time
 Measure of ionization rate of air

• Depends on
 kVp
 mA
 target material
 filtration
 waveform
Intensity
Intensity &
& Target
Target Material
Material

• higher target atomic # results in


greater x-ray production efficiency
 higher positive charge of nucleus causes more
Bremsstrahlung
• discrete energies of characteristic
radiation determined by anode
material
 Energy differences between shells
 molybdenum used in mammo
» characteristic radiation of 17 & 19 keV
Intensity
Intensity &
&
Technique
Technique
• beam intensity proportional to mA
• beam Intensity ~ proportional to kVp2

+ filament
voltage
source
high
voltage
source

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