Thermionic enhanced heat transfer in x-ray tubes

Authors

Suguo Chen, Xi'an University of Technology
Pengtao Wang, Xi'an University of Technology
Xiaoqiuyan Zhang, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
Sunchao Huang, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
Yue Wang, Xi'an University of Technology
Min Hu, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
Chao Zhang, University of Wollongong
Yubin Gong, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Publication Name

Applied Physics Letters

Abstract

Since their discovery in 1895, x-ray tubes have attracted enormous interest and have been intensively used in nondestructive inspection, medical imaging, and radiation therapy. However, the targets of x-ray tubes universally suffer from overheating problems since only 1% of the input energy is converted to x rays, and the remaining 99% is converted to heat. Thus, the overheating problem has severely restricted the development of high-power x-ray tubes. Here, we propose a method, e.g., thermionic cooling to enhance the heat transfer in x-ray tubes. By employing thermionic cooling, we found that the target temperature of x-ray tubes can be reduced from 1206 to 393 °C. Our results will pave the way for developing high-power x-ray tubes and, therefore, advance x-ray-based technologies.

Open Access Status

This publication may be available as open access

Volume

124

Issue

1

Article Number

012201

Funding Number

21JP084

Funding Sponsor

National Natural Science Foundation of China