Fully Vacuum-Sealed Diode-Structure Addressable ZnO Nanowire Cold Cathode Flat-Panel X-ray Source: Fabrication and Imaging Application

Abstract

A fully vacuum-sealed addressable flat-panel X-ray source based on ZnO nanowire field emitter arrays (FEAs) was fabricated. The device has a diode structure composed of cathode panel and anode panel. ZnO nanowire cold cathodes were prepared on strip electrodes on a cathode panel and Mo thin film strips were prepared on an anode panel acting as the target. Localized X-ray emission was realized by cross-addressing of cathode and anode electrodes. A radiation dose rate of 10.8 μGy/s was recorded at the anode voltage of 32 kV. The X-ray imaging of objects using different addressing scheme was obtained and the imaging results were analyzed. The results demonstrated the feasibility of achieving addressable flat-panel X-ray source using diode-structure for advanced X-ray imaging.

Simulation study of a novel ZnO nanowire cold cathode flat-panel x-ray source using EGSnrc for Talbot-Lau type grating interferometry

“…In addition, compared with thermionic cathode X-ray tubes, cold-cathode flat-panel sources have unique and intrinsic advantages, such as quick temporal response, low-power consumption, etc. Large area size of flat panel sources can generate X-ray photons with high flux and addressability may provide new possibilities for X ray imaging [8][9][10]. Based on this source, we further proposed a novel flat panel X-ray source that has the potential to be used in GI.…”