Measurement and Validation of Benchmark-Quality Thick-Target Tungsten X-Ray Spectra below 150 kVp

Abstract Mercier, J. R., Kopp, D. T., McDavid, W. D., Dove, S. B., Lancaster, J. L. and Tucker, D. M. Measurement and Validation of Benchmark-Quality Thick-Target Tungsten X-Ray Spectra below 150 kVp. Pulse-height distributions of two constant potential X-ray tubes with fixed anode tungsten targets were measured and unfolded. The measurements employed quantitative alignment of the beam, the use of two different semiconductor detectors (high-purity germanium and cadmium-zinc-telluride), two different ion chamber systems with beam-specific calibration factors, and various filter and tube potential combinations. Monte Carlo response matrices were generated for each detector for unfolding the pulse-height distributions into spectra incident on the detectors. These response matrices were validated for the low error bars assigned to the data. A significant aspect of the validation of spectra, and a detailed characterization of the X-ray tubes, involved measuring filtered and unfiltered beams at multiple tube po...