Comparison of simulated and measured spectra of an industrial 450 kV X-ray tube

An accurate knowledge of the X-ray source spectrum is required in order to optimize X-ray Computed Tomography systems. A simulation model based on the Monte Carlo code GEANT4 was developed to determine the X-ray spectrum generated by a 450kV tube. The X-ray spectra were measured using a Cadmium Telluride stack detector. The measured spectra were corrected for spurious detector effects and detector efficiency. The X-ray spectra simulated by GEANT4 were validated by comparison with X-ray spectra measured at 350, 400 and 450 kV. We observed a good agreement between the simulated and the measured X-ray spectra. In addition, we simulated and measured attenuation curves using aluminium and copper filtration. The comparison of the attenuation curves shows an excellent agreement. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.