EP0023051A1 - X-ray image intensifier - Google Patents

X-ray image intensifier Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0023051A1
EP0023051A1 EP80104337A EP80104337A EP0023051A1 EP 0023051 A1 EP0023051 A1 EP 0023051A1 EP 80104337 A EP80104337 A EP 80104337A EP 80104337 A EP80104337 A EP 80104337A EP 0023051 A1 EP0023051 A1 EP 0023051A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
cylindrical vessel
ray image
image intensifier
output
input window
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP80104337A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Norio Harao
Chikae Nishino
Fumio Sugimori
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Toshiba Corp
Original Assignee
Toshiba Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Toshiba Corp filed Critical Toshiba Corp
Publication of EP0023051A1 publication Critical patent/EP0023051A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J29/00—Details of cathode-ray tubes or of electron-beam tubes of the types covered by group H01J31/00
    • H01J29/86—Vessels; Containers; Vacuum locks
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J31/00—Cathode ray tubes; Electron beam tubes
    • H01J31/08—Cathode ray tubes; Electron beam tubes having a screen on or from which an image or pattern is formed, picked up, converted, or stored
    • H01J31/50—Image-conversion or image-amplification tubes, i.e. having optical, X-ray, or analogous input, and optical output
    • H01J31/501—Image-conversion or image-amplification tubes, i.e. having optical, X-ray, or analogous input, and optical output with an electrostatic electron optic system

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an X-ray image intensifier which has a metal input window.
  • An X-ray image intensifier (to be referred to as I.I. for brevity hereinafter) has an evacuated envelope which has conventionally been made of glass. It has been recently proposed, however, to manufacture an input window for an I.I. from thin metal in order to improve the characteristics of the I.I., especially the contrast property and resolution.
  • the thickness of the input window must be 4 - 5 mm in consideration of the pressure.
  • X-rays incident on a glass input window of this thickness are scattered, degrading the contrast property and resolution.
  • the input window when the input window is made of metal, the input window may be made as thin as 0.2 - 1.5 mm. Accordingly, the scattering of the X-rays is less than in the case of the glass input window, and the contrast property and resolution are better.
  • the material to constitute such a metal input window must transmit X-rays and must be resistant to pressure.
  • Materials which have been proposed so far are Al (0.5 - 1.5 mm in thickness), Ti (0.2 - 0.4 mm in thickness), steel (0.2 - 0.4 mm in thickness) and so on.
  • the connection between the input window of such a metal and the cylindrical vessel comprising the main body of the evacuated envelope which must be air- impermeable has presented various problems.
  • Fig. 1 shows the construction of an I.I. having a metal input window as proposed in Auslegeschrift 2,619,293.
  • An evacuated envelope 1 of this I.I. comprises a cylindrical vessel 4 of steel, a metal input window 2 which is hermetically connected to one end of this vessel 4 through a joint ring 3, and an output container 5 which is hermetically connected to the other end of the vessel 4, either directly or through another metal member.
  • the output end of the output container 5 constitutes a transparent glass output window 6.
  • the metal input window 2 is of convex shape (outwardly protruding), and on the inside of it is disposed an input screen 10. Inside the glass output window 6 is disposed an output screen 15 in opposition to the input screen 10.
  • Inside the evacuated envelope 1 are further coaxially disposed a first grid 11, a second grid 12, a third grid 13 an anode 14 constituting an electron lens.
  • a distinctive feature of such an I.I. is the fact that Al, which has excellent X-ray transmissivity, may be used as a material for the metal input window 2.
  • the cylindrical vessel 4 is made of steel. Since the melting point of AZ is about 700°C and that of steel is 1,200 - 1,300°C, it is difficult to weld them directly. Thus, a special connection method as shown in Fig. 2 must be adopted. As may be seen from Fig. 2, according to this method, a Ni-plating layer is formed on the connecting part of the steel joint ring 3 with the input window 2, and a Ag-plating layer 20 is formed thereover.
  • the At input window 2 having the Ni-plating layer formed at its connecting part with the joint ring 3 is heat welded to the joint ring 3. Since the joint ring 3 and the cylindrical vessel 4 are of the same material, they may be easily welded by methods such as arc welding, plasma welding and brazing.
  • Fig. 3 shows another example of an I.I. which has a metal input window.
  • the metal input window 16 comprises, for example, a Ti plate of 0.25 mm in thickness.
  • the input window 16 of Ti and a joint ring 17 of steel or Kovar (Fe-Ni-Co sealing alloy) are welded by methods such as the resistance heating method or brazing.
  • Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of this connecting part. Referring to Fig. 4, the input window 16 of Ti and the joint ring 17 of steel or Kovar are welded by the resistance heating method.
  • This resistance heating method may be performed by interposing a solder such as Ag between the input window 16 and the joint ring 17, or vacuum soldering may alternatively be performed by similarly using a solder such as Ag.
  • the input window 16 may be steel, a Ni-Fe alloy and so on instead of Ti. However, with any of these the X-ray transmissivity is inferior to that of A£.
  • the input window must be made thin so that it is of concave shape due to the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the evacuated envelope.
  • the joint ring 17 may be easily welded to the cylindrical vessel 4 which consists of the same material or of a material weldable with the material of the joint ring by methods such as arc welding, plasma welding, brazing and so on.
  • the primary object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide an X-ray image intensifier wherein the construction of the connecting part may be made simple, magnetization will not be caused, and the intensifier may be made compact in size and light in weight.
  • the present invention provides an X-ray image intensifier having an evacuated envelope, and inside it an input screen, an output screen, and a plurality of electrodes constituting an electron lens system
  • said evacuated envelope comprises a cylindrical vessel of Al or an At-based alloy, a metal input window of Al or an Al-based alloy which is hermetically connected to one end of said cylindrical vessel, an output container of ceramic or glass which is hermetically connected to the other end of said cylindrical vessel, and a glass output window which is hermetically sealed to the output end of said output container.
  • FIG. 6 shows the X-ray image intensifier in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • An evacuated envelope 1 of this I.I. comprises a cylindrical vessel 4 of aluminum, a metal input window 2 which is hermetically connected to one end of this vessel 4 and an output container 32 which is hermetically connected to the other end of the vessel 4, either directly or through another metal member.
  • the cylindrical vessel is divided into a first cylindrical vessel 30 and a second cylindrical vessel 31.
  • the output end of the output container 32 constitutes a transparent glass output window 33.
  • the metal input window 2 is of convex shape (outwardly protruding), and on the inside of it is disposed an input screen 10. Inside the glass output window 33 is disposed an output screen 15 in opposition to the input screen 10.
  • a metal window 2 of 0.5 to 1.5 mm, for example, 1.0 mm in thickness and of Al or an At-based alloy is jointed by methods such as arc welding, plasma welding, and brazing to the first cylindrical vessel 30 of, for example, 3 mm in thickness and of Al or an Al-based alloy.
  • a joint ring (not shown) of Al or an At-based alloy may be interposed between the metal input window 2 and the first cylindrical vessel 30.
  • Reference numeral 34 denotes a connecting part between the input window 2 and the first cylindrical vessel 30.
  • the output side of the first cylindrical vessel 30 is welded to the second cylindrical vessel 31 (3 mm in thickness, for example) of Alar an Al-based alloy which has been processed by drawing in a manner similar to the welding of the connecting part 34.
  • Reference numeral 35 denotes this welded connecting part.
  • a welding portion 41 of the metal input window 2 and a welding portion 42 of the first cylindrical vessel 30 are of substantially the same thickness and are welded together by arc welding.
  • a joint ring of Al may be interposed between the two members for welding.
  • the structure shown in Fig. 7 is the modified example.
  • a brazing filler 43 for example, an At-based brazing filler (e.g., JIS Z 3263, BA l - 0) is interposed between both welding portions.
  • the two members are connected by heating in a vacuum.
  • the connecting structure shown in Fig. 7 may also be adopted for the connecging part 35.
  • the output end of the second cylindrical vessel 31 is connected to a ceramic output container 32 as shown in Fig. 8.
  • a Mo-plating layer 49 and Ni-plating layer 44 is formed on the connecting surface of the output container 32.
  • a brazing filler 45 e.g., an At-based brazing filler
  • a transparent glass output window 33 is attached to the output end of the output container 32 by using fritted glass.
  • the input window and the cylindrical vessel are made of Al or an At-based alloy.
  • the melting points of these materials are close and welding of these two parts is easy.
  • the output side may be easily drawn and the construction of the I.I. may be made simple, resulting in lightness and compactness of the X-ray image intensifier.
  • the diameter of the cylindrical vessel at the output end may be made smaller than the maximum diameter of the I.I. by the drawing, the connecting pressure per unit area may be advantageously made great. Since a ferromagnetic material such as Kovar is not used, there is no magnetization which might otherwise be caused by the influence of an external magnetic field or a discharge within the tube. Consequently, the accompanying distortion of the image and degradation of the resolution are eliminated.
  • the cylindrical vessel of an image intensifier having a diameter of, for example, 6 to 12 inches is made of aluminum according to this invention. In practice, this made it possible to connect the cylindrical vessel to an output container made of glass or ceramic. This effect was an unexpected one, which can drastically improve the structure of an image intensifier.
  • Fig. 9 shows the modified example of a connecting part wherein the output container 32 is not made of ceramic as shown in Fig. 8 but is made of glass.
  • An AA ring 46 is interposed between the connecting surfaces of the output container 32 and the second cylindrical vessel 31 for welding by hot-pressing.
  • the welding by hot-pressing using an Al ring may be accomplished, for example, by exerting a pressure of 340 kg/cm 2 on the members to be connected at 430°C for 30 minutes.
  • Fig. 10 shows another example of a connecting structure of the output end of the second cylindrical vessel 31 and the output container 32.
  • the ceramic output container 32 and a joint ring 47 of AZ or an Al-based alloy are hot-pressed with an Al ring 48 interposed therebetween. Then the joint ring 47 and the second cylindrical vessel 31 are arc-welded.
  • the output container 32 and the joint ring 47 may be connected by another method.
  • a transparent glass output window 33 is attached to the output end of the output container 32 by using fritted glass.
  • the output container 32 is of preferably cylindrical shape so as to withstand the pressure exerted during hot-pressing.
  • Fig. 11 shows an example wherein an input screen 50 is formed directly inside the metal input window 2.
  • the input screen 10 of the I.I. shown in Fig. 6 is generally formed by vacuum-depositing Na-activated CsI phosphor to a thickness of about 200 ⁇ m on the recessed side of a spherical Al substrate of about 0.5 mm in thickness, forming a protective film of Al 2 O 3 or the like of about 400 A in thickness thereover, and finally forming a photoconductive layer of Cs-Sb or the like while evacuating the I.I.
  • a photoconductive layer of Cs-Sb or the like while evacuating the I.I.
  • the Na-activated CsI phosphor layer, the protective film, and the photoconductive layer are formed in the order mentioned directly on the inner surface of the metal input window 2 of Al or an At-based alloy.
  • the X-ray transmissivity is improved, and the scattering of the X-rays is made less since the Al substrate is unnecessary.
  • an I.I. of excellent performance may be obtained.
  • the cylindrical vessel is divided into two parts in the embodiments described above, it may be formed in unitary form, especially in the case of a small I.I.
  • the input phosphor screen is disposed directly inside the input window, it is advantageous to divide the cylindrical vessel into two parts since then the input phosphor screen may be disposed after connecting the input window to the first cylindrical vessel, and the thermal degradation of the input phosphor screen due to the welding heat is eliminated. An input phosphor screen of excellent characteristics can thus be obtained.

Landscapes

  • Image-Pickup Tubes, Image-Amplification Tubes, And Storage Tubes (AREA)
  • Vessels, Lead-In Wires, Accessory Apparatuses For Cathode-Ray Tubes (AREA)
EP80104337A 1979-07-24 1980-07-23 X-ray image intensifier Withdrawn EP0023051A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP101365/79U 1979-07-24
JP10136579U JPS5620264U (US08063081-20111122-C00044.png) 1979-07-24 1979-07-24

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0023051A1 true EP0023051A1 (en) 1981-01-28

Family

ID=14298793

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP80104337A Withdrawn EP0023051A1 (en) 1979-07-24 1980-07-23 X-ray image intensifier

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0023051A1 (US08063081-20111122-C00044.png)
JP (1) JPS5620264U (US08063081-20111122-C00044.png)

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2482366A1 (fr) * 1980-05-06 1981-11-13 Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co Enveloppe sous vide pour un tube multiplicateur d'images de rayonnement, et son procede de fabrication
US4763042A (en) * 1984-05-30 1988-08-09 Thomson-Csf Vacuum envelope for a radiation image intensifying tube and a process for manufacturing such an envelope
EP0540392A1 (fr) * 1991-10-31 1993-05-05 Thomson Tubes Electroniques Gaine de tube intensificateur d'image radiologique
EP0763343A1 (en) * 1995-08-07 1997-03-19 Oec Medical Systems, Inc. Imaging chain with miniaturized C-arm assembly for mobile X-ray imaging system
FR2754385A1 (fr) * 1996-10-09 1998-04-10 Siemens Ag Intensificateur d'image de rayons x comportant un boitier pour la reception d'electrodes
DE19641625A1 (de) * 1996-10-09 1998-04-16 Siemens Ag Röntgenbildverstärker mit einem Gefäß zur Aufnahme von Elektroden
DE19808723C1 (de) * 1998-03-02 1999-11-11 Siemens Ag Röntgenbildverstärker mit einem Eingangsfenster aufweisend Aluminium sowie Verfahren zu dessen Herstellung
EP3463938B1 (de) * 2016-05-24 2020-12-16 ZF Friedrichshafen AG Vierpunktlenker

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2331210B1 (de) * 1973-06-19 1974-10-31 Siemens Ag, 1000 Berlin Und 8000 Muenchen Verwendung von Leichtmetallscheiben als Röntgenstrahlendurchgangsfenster
DE2423935A1 (de) * 1974-05-16 1975-11-20 Siemens Ag Elektronenoptischer bildverstaerker
DE2505991A1 (de) * 1975-02-13 1976-08-26 Siemens Ag Mit energiereichen strahlen anregbarer leuchtschirm
US4045700A (en) * 1974-12-23 1977-08-30 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft X-ray image intensifier
DE2619293A1 (de) * 1976-04-30 1977-11-10 Siemens Ag Strahlendurchgangsfenster
DE2750132A1 (de) * 1976-11-12 1978-05-18 Diagnostic Inform Roentgenempfindliche bildverstaerkerroehre und damit ausgestattete radiografiekamera

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS5329140Y2 (US08063081-20111122-C00044.png) * 1973-06-04 1978-07-21

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2331210B1 (de) * 1973-06-19 1974-10-31 Siemens Ag, 1000 Berlin Und 8000 Muenchen Verwendung von Leichtmetallscheiben als Röntgenstrahlendurchgangsfenster
DE2423935A1 (de) * 1974-05-16 1975-11-20 Siemens Ag Elektronenoptischer bildverstaerker
US4045700A (en) * 1974-12-23 1977-08-30 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft X-ray image intensifier
DE2505991A1 (de) * 1975-02-13 1976-08-26 Siemens Ag Mit energiereichen strahlen anregbarer leuchtschirm
DE2619293A1 (de) * 1976-04-30 1977-11-10 Siemens Ag Strahlendurchgangsfenster
DE2750132A1 (de) * 1976-11-12 1978-05-18 Diagnostic Inform Roentgenempfindliche bildverstaerkerroehre und damit ausgestattete radiografiekamera

Cited By (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2482366A1 (fr) * 1980-05-06 1981-11-13 Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co Enveloppe sous vide pour un tube multiplicateur d'images de rayonnement, et son procede de fabrication
US4516715A (en) * 1980-05-06 1985-05-14 Tokyo Shibaura Denki Kabushiki Kaisha Vacuum container of radiation image multiplier tube and method of manufacturing the same
US4763042A (en) * 1984-05-30 1988-08-09 Thomson-Csf Vacuum envelope for a radiation image intensifying tube and a process for manufacturing such an envelope
EP0540392A1 (fr) * 1991-10-31 1993-05-05 Thomson Tubes Electroniques Gaine de tube intensificateur d'image radiologique
FR2683387A1 (fr) * 1991-10-31 1993-05-07 Thomson Tubes Electroniques Gaine de tube intensificateur d'image radiologique.
US5304792A (en) * 1991-10-31 1994-04-19 Thomson Tubes Electroniques X-ray image intensifier tube casing
EP0763343A1 (en) * 1995-08-07 1997-03-19 Oec Medical Systems, Inc. Imaging chain with miniaturized C-arm assembly for mobile X-ray imaging system
FR2754385A1 (fr) * 1996-10-09 1998-04-10 Siemens Ag Intensificateur d'image de rayons x comportant un boitier pour la reception d'electrodes
DE19641627A1 (de) * 1996-10-09 1998-04-16 Siemens Ag Röntgenbildverstärker mit einem Gefäß zur Aufnahme von Elektroden
DE19641625A1 (de) * 1996-10-09 1998-04-16 Siemens Ag Röntgenbildverstärker mit einem Gefäß zur Aufnahme von Elektroden
CN1097291C (zh) * 1996-10-09 2002-12-25 西门子公司 X射线像增强器
DE19808723C1 (de) * 1998-03-02 1999-11-11 Siemens Ag Röntgenbildverstärker mit einem Eingangsfenster aufweisend Aluminium sowie Verfahren zu dessen Herstellung
EP3463938B1 (de) * 2016-05-24 2020-12-16 ZF Friedrichshafen AG Vierpunktlenker

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPS5620264U (US08063081-20111122-C00044.png) 1981-02-23

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PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

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Effective date: 19800723

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STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

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Effective date: 19830330

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Inventor name: NISHINO, CHIKAE

Inventor name: SUGIMORI, FUMIO

Inventor name: HARAO, NORIO