Fully Vacuum-Sealed Diode-Structure Addressable ZnO Nanowire Cold Cathode Flat-Panel X-ray Source: Fabrication and Imaging Application

Abstract

A fully vacuum-sealed addressable flat-panel X-ray source based on ZnO nanowire field emitter arrays (FEAs) was fabricated. The device has a diode structure composed of cathode panel and anode panel. ZnO nanowire cold cathodes were prepared on strip electrodes on a cathode panel and Mo thin film strips were prepared on an anode panel acting as the target. Localized X-ray emission was realized by cross-addressing of cathode and anode electrodes. A radiation dose rate of 10.8 μGy/s was recorded at the anode voltage of 32 kV. The X-ray imaging of objects using different addressing scheme was obtained and the imaging results were analyzed. The results demonstrated the feasibility of achieving addressable flat-panel X-ray source using diode-structure for advanced X-ray imaging.