Characterization of an Over-Driven Commercial X-Ray Tube Using Coupled 3D Electromagnetic Particle-in-Cell to Montecarlo Radiation Transport Simulations

We present a self-consistent electromagnetic simulation model of an x-ray tube based on commercially available devices. The goals of this study were to create a simulation model of the x-ray device using a generic simplified geometry for use in a particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation which created an electron beam source for the electron/photon Monte-Carlo simulation. The model was used to determine the maximum electron currents that could be transported in the tube diode and characterize the x-ray output with a goal of achieving reasonable agreement with experimental x-ray characteristics. The work involved creating an approximate 3D geometry for the PIC simulation and using a tally of the PIC electrons striking the bremsstrahlung converter (i.e., the anode of the bremsstrahlung diode) as an electron beam source for the Monte-Carlo electron photon transport code. Output of the simulation is compared to experimental measurements to ensure that the model reflects the physics of the experiment and may, presumably scale with such parameters as voltage and current.