Monte Carlo simulation of the effects of anode surface roughness on x-ray spectra

Purpose: Spectral and angular distribution of the x-ray beam generated by medical x-ray tubes as a function of anode surface roughness was analyzed. Methods: Different sets of profiles such as ideal flat, regular profiles, and measured profiles adopted from the literature were analyzed by means of MCNPX Monte Carlo simulator. The geometry used was simplified to separate different physical effects. A sphere centered on the origin of the coordinate system was divided into two hemispheres filled with tungsten and a vacuum, respectively. The studied anode surfaces were placed at the center of the plane of the hemisphere. The profiles were realized by means of the general lattice structure of the MCNPX. The energy and angular distributions of the excited photons were recorded with energy and angular resolutions of 0.5 keV and 1 degrees, respectively, by means of point detectors. The range of the studied anode surface roughness was 0-550 mu m R(a). The emission angle dependencies of the following quantities were analyzed: Half value layer (HVL) value, intensity, and spectral photon flux. Results: The analysis of the HVL of the x-ray beam showed that around an emission angle of 5 degrees, the hardness of the beam was practically independent of the surface roughness. The value of this emission angle depends on the filtration. Below this critical angle, the HVL value decreases, while at a higher emission angle, the beam becomes harder with increasing surface roughness. The intensity degradation saturates with increasing roughness. The position of the maximum spectral photon flux shifts to higher emission angles as the anode surface roughness increases. The surface roughness (R(a)) was found to be an inadequate quantity to describe the effect of anode surface roughness on x-ray spectra since no definite connection was found between the values of the intensity degradation and surface roughness. At 120 kVp tube voltage and at a 3.84 mu m R(a) roughness value, the effect of anode surface roughness introduces a 5% and 12% intensity degradation at a 5 degrees and 12 degrees emission angle, respectively. However, it has a higher impact at low tube voltages (<60 keV), e.g., in mammography systems where the intensity degradation could even be 25% at the "newly" polished anode surface. Conclusions: The effects of anode surface roughness on x-ray spectra were successfully simulated by a Monte Carlo method. It was proved that the effect of the anode surface roughness could not be modeled by simple filters made from the anode material. The surface roughness (R(a)) was found to be an inadequate quantity to describe the effect of anode surface roughness on x-ray spectra. (C) 2010 American Association of Physicists in Medicine. [DOI: 10.1118/1.3495541]