Transmission Target for a MEMS X-Ray Source

This paper describes a major step towards the development of the first fully MEMS X-ray source. It focuses mostly on the development of a transmission target that is responsible for converting the electron beam into radiation. The simulation and experimental results are presented, allowing investigation of the influence of the target material, target thickness, and electron beam energy on the obtained X-ray radiation intensities and spectra. It has been proven that one can apply a silicon membrane as an X-ray target working with energies below 25 keV. It has also been shown that covering the membrane with metals such as nickel or tantalum can significantly improve the radiation intensity. Moreover, the article presents how exactly these metals contribute to radiation spectrum, i.e., which gives more coherent beam and which broadband. [2023-0040]