High-intensity electron beam for liquid-metal-jet anode hard x-ray generation

We report on our progress towards the experimental realization of a liquid-metal-jet-anode x-ray source with high brightness. We have previously shown that this electron-impact source has potential for very high x-ray brightness by combining small-spot high-flux operation of the electron beam with high-speed operation of the regenerative liquid-metal-jet anode. In the present paper we review the system and describe theoretical calculations for improving the 50 kV, 600 W electron-beam focussing to ~30 μm spot size. With such a system the power density on the liquid-metal-jet would be ~400 kW/mm2, i.e., more than an order of magnitude higher than the power density on a state-of-the-art rotating anode.