A multi-beam x-ray imaging system based on carbon nanotube field emitters

Abstract

In this study, we report a multi-beam x-ray imaging system that can generate a scanning x-ray beam to image an object from multiple projection angles without mechanical motion. The key part of this imaging system is a multi-beam field emission x-ray (MBFEX) source which comprises a linear array of gated electron emitting pixels. The pixels are individually addressable via a MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor) based electronic circuit. The device can provide a tube current of 0.1-1 mA at 40 kVp with less than 300 μm focal spot size from each of the emitting pixels. Multilayer images of different phantoms were reconstructed to demonstrate its potential applications in tomographic imaging. Since no mechanical motion is needed and the electronic switching time is generally negligible the MBFEX system has the potential to simplify the system design and lead to a fast data acquisition for tomographic imaging.