Simulation of the effect of anode surface roughness on diagnostic x-ray spectra

To simulate the effect of the condition of the anode surface on x-ray output the surface roughness of anode fragments of replaced clinical x-ray tubes was determined. A mean roughness of 1.32-5.22 microm giving effective tungsten absorption layers of up to 18 microm thickness in the direction of the x-ray beam was determined. X-ray spectra were then simulated using the measured surface profiles. The most prominent effect was the reduction of the kerma output of the tube with increasing roughness (-33% at 50 kV tube voltage and 5 microm roughness). The effects of beam hardening are less pronounced. The corresponding changes in the spectral parameters are generally small but largest for tube voltages up to 70 kV. For higher voltages the increased photon attenuation above the K-edge of tungsten reduces the effects of roughness on spectral parameters. The maximum shifts in mean photon energy of about 1 keV and in HVL of about 0.2 mm Al were obtained for an anode roughness of 5 microm.