KR20190067614A - X-ray source unit and x-ray apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A disclosed X-ray device according to the present invention includes: a hollow body unit having a space therein; an X-ray source unit provided inside the body unit to emit electrons; and an anode unit coupled to the body unit to face the X-ray source unit, and generating X-rays or light by collision with the electrons to guide the X-rays or light to the outside of the body unit. The X-ray source unit includes at least one source portion for generating the electrons, and a focusing portion provided with at least one mounting groove having a shape corresponding to at least one source portion so that one source portion can be inserted therein, and focusing and discharging the electrons generated from the source portion to the outside. According to the configuration, the source portion can be easily aligned, and electron emission efficiency due to a dual electric field can be improved.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an X-ray source unit and an X-

The present invention relates to an X-ray source unit and an X-ray apparatus having the X-ray source unit. More specifically, it is possible to easily align an X-ray source unit due to the shape of a focusing unit for focusing electrons, Ray source unit and an X-ray apparatus having the same.

Generally, an X-ray tube is a tube for generating X-rays. The cathode of such an X-ray tube is formed of a tungsten filament and is heated by an electric current to emit thermal electrons. On the other hand, when a high voltage of tens of thousands of volts or more is applied to the anode of the X-ray tube, the electron currents emitted from the cathode move toward the anode at high speed. At this time, the energy that the electron current has when it collides with the counter electrode made of tungsten or molybdenum of the anode is emitted as X-rays.

The observation of human body tissue using radiological approach is very beneficial to human civilization because of advantages such as non - invasiveness. In addition, due to the radiological approach of biotechnology and medical science, observation of tissues ranging in size from a few millimeters to several micrometers has made a significant contribution to many R & D activities and human health improvement.

However, conventional radiation apparatuses having a micrometer-sized resolution have difficulties in observing microstructures due to a lack of spatial resolution, and thus, there has been a limitation in observing them using giant synchrotron radiation utilizing particle accelerators. In addition, since the conventional micro-X-ray apparatus uses a filament-based electron emission source, the emission x-ray dose is insufficient to be applied to various imaging apparatuses.

Accordingly, in recent years, a variety of researches capable of photographing high-quality x-rays have been continuously performed.

Korean Registered Patent No. 10-1341672 (Registered on December 19, 2013) Korean Registered Patent No. 10-1701047 (Registered on Feb. 2017, 013)

It is an object of the present invention to provide an X-ray source unit which is easy to align and capable of dual electric fields.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an x-ray apparatus having the above-described object and an x-ray source unit.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an X-ray source unit comprising: at least one source part for generating electrons; and at least one source part for forming at least one source part, And a focusing portion provided with one mounting groove for focusing the electrons generated from the at least one source portion to the outside.

According to one aspect, the at least one source portion may generate the electrons by at least one of a filament-based thermionic emission method and a carbon nanotube (CNT) -based field emission method.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the at least one source portion is provided in plurality to generate the electrons in at least one of a filament-based thermoelectron emission system and a carbon nanotube (CNT) -based field emission system, And a plurality of the mounting grooves are provided on the upper surface so as to correspond to the number of the source portions.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the source portion includes first and second source portions that respectively generate electrons in at least one of a filament-based thermoelectron emission system and a carbon nanotube (CNT) -based field emission system, And the first and second light sources have a shape corresponding to the first and second source portions, respectively, the first and second light sources having a shape corresponding to a cup shape and having first and second inclined surfaces connected to each other in a V- The first and second mounting grooves may be provided on the first and second inclined surfaces to align and align the first and second source portions.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the at least one mounting groove may be formed with a line hole through which the electrode line of the source unit can pass.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the at least one source portion includes a negative electrode for applying a negative electrode, an emitter stacked on the negative electrode to emit electrons, an emitter cover stacked on the emitter to prevent edge effects, A first insulator laminated between the emitter and the emitter cover for mutual insulation; a second insulator laminated between the emitter cover and the patterning electrode to insulate each other from each other; A first support for supporting a bottom surface of the cathode electrode, and a second support member stacked on the second insulator and having an opening through which electrons are emitted.

According to one aspect, the negative electrode and the patterning electrode may have a mesh shape.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a negative electrode line extending from the negative electrode is connected to the inside of the focusing unit through the first support member, and a patterning electrode line extending from the patterning electrode is formed on the second insulator, the emitter cover, And can be connected to the inside of the focusing unit through the first support body.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the at least one mounting groove of the focusing unit may include an electrode hole through which the negative electrode line and the patterning electrode line pass.

An X-ray apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes: a hollow body unit having a space therein; an X-ray source unit provided inside the body unit to emit electrons; And an anode unit coupled to the body unit and generating an X-ray or light by collision with the electron and guiding the X-ray or light to the outside of the body unit, wherein the X-ray source unit includes at least one source part for generating the electrons, And at least one mounting groove having a shape corresponding to the at least one source portion so that the source portion of the source portion can be inserted thereinto and a focusing portion for focusing and discharging electrons generated from the source portion to the outside.

According to one aspect, the at least one source portion includes first and second source portions for generating electrons in at least one of a filament-based thermoelectron emission system and a carbon nanotube (CNT) -based field emission system, The at least one mounting groove may include first and second mounting grooves into which the first and second source portions are respectively inserted.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the focusing unit has a cup shape, and first and second inclined surfaces connected to the upper surface in a V-shape are provided, and the first and second mounting grooves are respectively formed in the first and second inclined surfaces .

According to one aspect of the present invention, the first and second mounting grooves may respectively have first and second line holes through which the electrode lines of the first and second source portions can pass, respectively.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the at least one source portion includes a negative electrode for applying a negative electrode, an emitter stacked on the negative electrode to emit electrons, an emitter cover stacked on the emitter to prevent edge effects, A first insulator laminated between the emitter and the emitter cover for mutual insulation; a second insulator laminated between the emitter cover and the patterning electrode to insulate each other from each other; A first support for supporting a bottom surface of the cathode electrode, and a second support member stacked on the second insulator and having an opening through which electrons are emitted.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a negative electrode line extending from the negative electrode is connected to the inside of the focusing unit through the first support member, and a patterning electrode line extending from the patterning electrode is formed on the second insulator, the emitter cover, And can be connected to the inside of the focusing unit through the first support body.

According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, first, since the source portion is inserted into the mounting groove provided in the focusing portion, the alignment can be easily performed even by a simple process, and safety can be improved.

Second, a plurality of inclined surfaces inclined on the upper surface of the cup-shaped focusing portion are formed, and a plurality of electron emission is enabled by inserting and aligning a plurality of source portions respectively with respect to a plurality of inclined surfaces.

Third, due to a plurality of source portions capable of generating electrons in at least any one of a thermoelectronism obtained by heating filaments or a field emission system using nanotube carbon (CNT) growth, the x-ray emission The efficiency can be improved.

1 is a cutaway perspective view schematically showing an X-ray apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the X-ray source unit shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the X-ray source unit shown in FIG. 2. FIG.
4 is a plan view schematically showing a focusing unit of the X-ray source unit shown in FIG. And,
5 is a rear view schematically showing the focusing unit shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an X-ray apparatus 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing an X-ray source unit 20 of the X-

Referring to FIG. 1, an X-ray apparatus 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a body unit 10, an X-ray source unit 20, and an anode unit 30.

For reference, the x-ray apparatus 1 described in the present invention is shown and exemplified as an x-ray apparatus for generating x-rays for a medical device, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, it is natural that the x-ray apparatus 1 according to the present invention can be applied to various light source fields for generating light energy.

The body unit 10 is hollow so as to have a space therein and surrounds the source unit 20 and the anode unit 30 to be described later. The body unit 10 has a cylindrical shape including a bottom portion 11 for supporting the source unit 20 and a side portion 12 extending in the vertical direction from the bottom portion 11. [ The bottom portion 11 and the side portion 12 are formed of a non-metallic material such as ceramic or glass, that is, an insulating material, so as to prevent electrical interference with electrons generated from the X-ray source unit 20, which will be described later.

Although not shown in detail, the side part 12 of the body unit 10 may be provided with a window (not shown) which is an entrance of the X-ray emitted from the inside of the body unit 10 to the outside. At this time, the window (not shown) may be formed of a metal material such as beryllium or aluminum, or a glass material coated with a fluorescent material. If a window (not shown) is formed of a metal such as beryllium, it may be filtered to emit only rays of a predetermined wavelength or less. If a window (not shown) is formed of a glass material coated with a fluorescent material Visible light may be emitted through the window (not shown). However, it may be provided without a window (not shown) depending on the use purpose of the X-ray apparatus 1.

The X-ray source unit 20 is provided inside the body unit 10 and emits electrons E. The x-ray source unit 20 includes a source unit 40 and a focusing unit 50, as shown in Fig.

At least one source portion 40 is provided to generate electrons E. [ In this embodiment, the source portion 40 includes two source portions 40a and 40b to illustrate that the electrons E are capable of dual electric fields. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the source portion 40 is exemplified as including the first source portion 40a and the second source portion 40b.

The source unit 40 includes a thermoelectron emission system for accelerating the heat generated by heating the filaments inside the body unit 10 in a vacuum state to a high voltage and a field emission system based on a carbon nanotube (CNT) field emission is adopted to emit electrons E, as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, both the first and second source portions 40a and 40b are shown to generate electrons E by a carbon nanotube-based field emission method, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

That is, although not shown in detail, the first source portion 40a of the source portion 40 emits electrons E by a carbon nanotube-based field emission method, and the second source portion 40b emits electrons E of a filament- A variation in which the electrons E are emitted by the emission method is also possible. Alternatively, it is needless to say that the first and second source portions 40a and 40b emit electrons E in a filament-based thermionic emission system. In addition, various modifications such as three or more source portions 40 are possible.

The detailed configuration of the source portion 40 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

3, the source portion 40 includes a negative electrode 41 formed in a thin plate shape to apply a negative electrode, an emitter 42 which is stacked on the negative electrode 41 and emits electrons E, And a thin plate patterning electrode 44 which is laminated on the emitter 42 and extracts electrons E from the emitter 42.

The cathode electrode 41 is formed of a relatively thin plate, that is, a thin plate, and may be formed of a metal material. The negative electrode 41 may be referred to as a negative electrode, that is, a (-) electrode and a cathode electrode. Since the x-ray apparatus 1 according to the present invention operates in vacuum, an alloy such as nickel, iron, cobalt or a single transition metal may be employed as the material of the cathode electrode.

The emitter 42 is an electrode for adjusting the trajectory of the emitted electrons and includes a conductive material composed of a metal such as a carbon nanotube or a carbon based material which is a nano material and capable of emitting a high current per unit area.

The negative electrode 41 and the patterning electrode 44 are formed with a metal mesh 411 and a patterning mesh 441 formed in a metal mesh shape to guide the emission of the electrons E. It is preferable that the cathode mesh 411 and the patterning mesh 441 are formed with a plurality of openings between metal nets and the openings are formed into a hexagonal honeycomb shape. The cathode mesh 411 and the patterning mesh 441 are formed in a hexagonal shape so that the electrons E are efficiently extracted from the metal mesh 411 and the patterning mesh 441 while the cathode mesh 411 and the patterning mesh 441 efficiently extract electrons E. [ It is possible to maximize the aperture ratio which is stably discharged without collision.

For reference, the cathode mesh 411 and the patterning mesh 441 are not limited to having a hexagonal honeycomb shape, and various modifications are possible in which a large number of circular or square openings are formed.

An emitter cover 43 is formed between the emitter 42 and the patterning electrode 44 so that a cover hole 431 is formed through the emitter cover 43. The emitter cover 43 is electrically connected to the emitter 42, Thereby preventing edge effects of the electrons E and guiding the electrons E to be uniformly extracted. A first insulator 45 having a first insulation hole 451 formed thereon is stacked between the emitter 42 and the emitter cover 43. The emitter cover 43 and the patterning electrode 44 Two insulators 46 having a second insulation hole 461 formed thereon are laminated. As a result, the space between the emitter 42, the emitter cover 43, and the patterning electrode 44 is insulated by the first and second insulators 45 and 46.

A first support body 47 is stacked and supported on the lower portion of the cathode electrode 41. A second support body 47 having an opening 481 through which the electrons E are emitted is formed on the upper portion of the second insulator 46 48 are stacked. Thereby, the lower portion and the upper portion of the source portion 40 are supported and protected by the first and second support members 46, 47.

The first and second insulators 45 and 46 and the first and second supports 47 and 48 are formed of an insulating material and are formed of a ceramic material in the present embodiment.

The negative electrode 41 and the patterning electrode 44 are provided with a negative electrode line 412 and a patterning electrode line 442, respectively, and are connected to an external power source. The negative electrode line 412 is connected to the inside of the focusing unit 50 through the first support member 47 through the electrode hole 49 formed through the first support member 47. The patterning electrode line 442 of the patterning electrode 44 is formed so as to penetrate through the second insulator 46, the emitter cover 43, the first insulator 45 and the first support member 47, And is connectable with the inside of the focusing unit 50 through the hole 49. [ The configuration in which the source unit 40 is provided in the focusing unit 50 will be described later in detail with the configuration of the focusing unit 50. [

When the negative electrode is applied to the negative electrode 41 supported by the first support member 47, the source portion 40 emits electrons E from the emitter 42. The electrons E emitted from the emitter 42 are transmitted through the first insulating hole 451 of the first insulator 45, the cover hole 431 of the emitter cover 43, The patterning electrode 441 of the patterning electrode 44 and the opening 481 of the second supporting member 48 sequentially through the insulating hole 461 and the patterning electrode 44 and is discharged.

The focusing unit 50 focuses and emits the electrons E generated from the source unit 40 to the outside. The focusing unit 50 has a cup-shaped focusing body 51, and the source unit 40 is installed on the upper surface of the focusing body 51. At least one mounting groove 54 or 55 is provided on the upper surface of the focusing portion 50 on the oblique surfaces 52 and 53 to which the source portion 40 is mounted.

The present embodiment illustrates that the source portion 40 includes the first and second mounting grooves 54 and 55 as exemplified by including the first and second source portions 40a and 40b . The first and second mounting grooves 54 and 55 are formed on the upper surface of the focusing portion 50 with first and second inclined surfaces 52 inclined to be mutually connected in a V- ) 53, respectively.

The first and second inclined surfaces 52 and 53 are provided with first and second mounting grooves 54 and 55 into which the first and second source portions 40a and 40b can be respectively inserted. Here, the first and second inclined surfaces 52 and 53 are inclined to guide the electrons E emitted from the first and second source portions 40a and 40b toward the anode unit 30 to be described later, Thereby supporting the first and second source portions 40a and 40b obliquely.

The first and second mounting grooves 54 and 55 are formed in a shape corresponding to the first and second source portions 40a and 40b so that the first and second mounting grooves 54 and 55 The first and second source portions 40a and 40b can be inserted and aligned at the same time. 2 and 3, the first supporting member 47, the negative electrode 41, and the emitter (not shown) of the first source portion 40a are connected to the first mounting groove 54 provided on the first inclined surface 52, The first insulator 45, the emitter cover 43, the second insulator 46, the patterning electrode 44, and the second support body 48 are stacked in this order.

4 and 5, a negative electrode line 412 and a patterning electrode line 442 are formed in the first and second mounting grooves 54 and 55 provided in the focusing body 51, The first and second line holes 56 and 57 are formed so as to pass through the first and the second line holes 56 and 57, respectively. The first and second line holes 56 and 57 are formed in the first and second mounting grooves 54 and 55 with a position and a number capable of communicating with the negative electrode line 412 and the patterning electrode line 442, Respectively. The negative electrode line 412 and the patterning electrode line 442 are extended from the negative electrode 41 and the patterning electrode 44 stacked in the first and second mounting grooves 54 and 55 to form the focusing portion 50 So that it can be connected to power supply means not shown inside.

The anode unit 30 is coupled to the body unit 10 so as to face the x-ray source unit 20 and generates x-rays L or light L by collision with the electrons E, As shown in FIG. 1, the anode unit 30 is coupled to the upper portion of the body unit 10 so as to face the X-ray source unit 20, and has an inclined reflecting surface 31 ). The reflection surface 31 generates an X-ray L by the collision with the electrons E, and guides the X-ray L to the outside of the body unit 10. For reference, although not shown in detail, the reflecting surface 31 of the anode unit 30 may be arranged in a straight line so as to face a window (not shown) to guide and guide the light L including the X- have.

The light L including the X-rays generated from the anode unit 30 may vary depending on the material of the anode unit 30 and the magnitude of the voltage applied to the X-ray source unit 20 and the anode unit 30 , X-ray, visible ray, infrared ray, and ultraviolet ray. In the present embodiment, the anode unit 30 is formed of any one material of copper, tungsten, manganese, molybdenum, or a combination thereof to generate an X-ray L.

For reference, when the reflecting surface 31 of the anode unit 30 is formed of a material such as glass rather than metal, a modification that generates light L for illumination by collision with the electrons E is also possible.

The operation of the X-ray apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration of the X-ray source unit 20 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

1, an X-ray source unit 20 is provided below the body unit 10 and an anode unit 30 is mounted on the body unit 10 so as to face the X-ray source unit 20 .

At this time, the X-ray source unit 20 is attached to the first and second inclined surfaces 52 and 53 inclined to the upper surface of the focusing body 51 of the cup-shaped focusing unit 50, 54) 55 are provided. 2 and 3, the first and second source portions 40a and 40b of the source portion 40 are inserted and aligned with respect to the first and second mounting grooves 54 and 55, respectively. That is, the first and second mounting grooves 54 and 55 are formed in a shape corresponding to the first and second source portions 40a and 40b, respectively, so that the first and second mounting grooves 54 and 55 The first and second source portions 40a and 40b are stacked and aligned at the same time.

The first and second source portions 40a and 40b provided in alignment with the first and second mounting grooves 54 and 55 are formed in such a manner that the positions of the plate- It is possible to arrange the plurality of source portions 40a and 40b so that the plurality of source portions 40a and 40b are simultaneously provided to the focusing portion 50 to emit electrons E respectively do.

The first source part 40a provided in the first installation groove 54 emits electrons E in a field emission system using carbon nanotubes (CNTs). At this time, the electrons E are emitted from the first inclined surface 52 toward the reflecting surface 31 of the anode unit 30 in an inclined manner. The second source portion 40b can also emit electrons E with or without the first source portion 40a and the second source portion 40b can emit electrons E from the second source portion 40b. (E) emission method is the same as that of the first source part 40a, so that the emission rate of the electrons E can be increased. Alternatively, it is natural that the electron source E of the second source portion 40b can emit electrons E simultaneously or separately from the first source portion 40a by applying the thermionic emission method using the filament.

The electrons E emitted from the X-ray source unit 20 are guided and reflected by the inclined reflection surface 31 of the anode unit 30 so as to be converted into the light L, And is discharged to the outside through the window.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. It can be understood that

1: X-ray device 10: Body unit
20: X-ray source unit 30: anode unit
40: source part 40a: first source
40b: second source 50: focusing part
51: focusing body 52: first inclined surface
53: second inclined surface 54: first installation groove
55: Second installation groove E: Electron

Claims (15)

At least one source portion for generating electrons; And
At least one mounting groove having a shape corresponding to each of the at least one source portion is arranged so that the at least one source portion is inserted and aligned, and a focusing portion for focusing the electron generated from the at least one source portion to the outside, ;
Ray source unit. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the at least one source portion generates electrons in at least one of a filament-based thermoelectron emission system and a carbon nanotube (CNT) -based field emission system. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the at least one source portion is provided to generate the electrons in at least one of a filament-based thermoelectron emission system and a carbon nanotube (CNT) -based field emission system,
Wherein the focusing unit has a plurality of cup-shaped mounting grooves provided on the upper surface so as to correspond to the number of the source portions. The method according to claim 1,
The source portion includes first and second source portions for generating the electrons in at least one of a filament-based thermoelectron emission system and a carbon nanotube (CNT) -based field emission system,
The focusing unit includes:
A focusing body having a cup shape and provided with first and second inclined surfaces which are mutually opposed to each other in a V-shape on an upper surface thereof; And
First and second mounting grooves provided on the first and second inclined surfaces respectively corresponding to the first and second source portions to insert and align the first and second source portions;
Ray source unit. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the at least one mounting groove is formed with a line hole through which the electrode line of the source unit can pass. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the at least one source portion comprises:
A negative electrode for applying a negative electrode;
An emitter stacked on the cathode electrode to emit electrons;
An emitter cover laminated on the emitter to prevent an edge effect;
A patterning electrode for patterning the electrons deposited on the emitter cover and emitted;
A first insulator laminated between the emitter and the emitter cover for mutual insulation;
A second insulator laminated between the emitter cover and the patterning electrode and insulated from each other;
A first support for supporting a bottom surface of the negative electrode; And
A second support member stacked on the second insulator and having an opening through which electrons are emitted;
Ray source unit. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the negative electrode and the patterning electrode have a mesh shape. The method according to claim 6,
A negative electrode line extending from the negative electrode is connected to the inside of the focusing unit through the first support member,
And a patterning electrode line extending from the patterning electrode is connected to the interior of the focusing unit through the second insulator, the emitter cover, the first insulator, and the first support. 9. The method of claim 8,
And an electrode hole through which the negative electrode line and the patterning electrode line pass is formed in the at least one mounting groove of the focusing unit. A hollow body unit having a space therein;
An X-ray source unit provided inside the body unit to emit electrons; And
An anode unit coupled to the body unit to face the x-ray source unit and generating an X-ray or light by collision with the electron to guide the X-ray source unit to the outside of the body unit;
/ RTI >
The x-
At least one source portion for generating the electrons; And
At least one mounting groove having a shape corresponding to the at least one source portion so that the at least one source portion can be inserted therein, the focusing portion for focusing and discharging electrons generated from the source portion to the outside;
Ray device. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the at least one source portion includes first and second source portions for generating electrons in at least one of a filament-based thermoelectron emission system and a carbon nanotube (CNT) -based field emission system,
Wherein the at least one mounting groove includes first and second mounting grooves into which the first and second source portions are respectively inserted. 12. The method of claim 11,
The focusing unit has a cup shape and includes first and second inclined surfaces connected to the upper surface in a V-
And the first and second mounting grooves are formed on the first and second inclined surfaces, respectively. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the first and second mounting grooves are respectively formed with first and second line holes through which the electrode lines of the first and second source portions can pass, respectively. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the at least one source portion comprises:
A negative electrode for applying a negative electrode;
An emitter stacked on the cathode electrode to emit electrons;
An emitter cover laminated on the emitter to prevent an edge effect;
A patterning electrode for patterning the electrons deposited on the emitter cover and emitted;
A first insulator laminated between the emitter and the emitter cover for mutual insulation;
A second insulator laminated between the emitter cover and the patterning electrode and insulated from each other;
A first support for supporting a bottom surface of the negative electrode; And
A second support member stacked on the second insulator and having an opening through which electrons are emitted;
Ray device. 15. The method of claim 14,
A negative electrode line extending from the negative electrode is connected to the inside of the focusing unit through the first support member,
And a patterning electrode line extending from the patterning electrode is connected to the inside of the focusing unit through the second insulator, the emitter cover, the first insulator, and the first support.

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