Mounted X-ray Window

• US 20180323033A1
• Filed: 02/21/2017
• Published: 11/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Moxtek (Polatechno Co.,Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Moxtek (Polatechno Co.,Ltd.)
• Inventors: Black, Kevin, Abbott, Jonathan
• Granted Patent: US 10,641,907 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/00 Measuring X-radiation, gamma radiation, corpuscular radiation, or cosmic radiation G01T3/00, G01T5/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2235/18 Windows, e.g. for X-ray transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 5/18 Windows permeable to X-rays, gamma-rays, or particles

Abstract

A mounted x-ray window can be strong and transmissive to x-rays, can have a hermetic seal, and can withstand high temperatures. The mounted x-ray window can include a film located on an inner-side of a flange of a housing and can be attached to the flange by a ring of elastic adhesive. The film can comprise silicon nitride.

A method of mounting an x-ray window can include placing a ring of elastic adhesive on an inner-side of a flange of a housing, placing a film on the ring of elastic adhesive, and baking the housing, the ring of elastic adhesive, and the film.

Claims

1. A method of mounting an x-ray window, the method comprising the following steps in the following order:

a) providing a housing with an aperture, a flange encircling the aperture, the flange having an inner-side that faces an interior of the housing;

b) locating a ring of elastic adhesive on the inner-side of the flange;

c) locating a film over the ring of elastic adhesive on the inner-side of the flange, extending across and covering the aperture, with the ring of elastic adhesive sandwiched between the film and the inner-side of the flange; and

d) baking the housing, the ring of elastic adhesive, and the film at a temperature of at least 300°

C.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the film has a material composition comprising silicon nitride.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the ring of elastic adhesive includes polyimide.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein baking further comprises applying at least one newton of force to the film while baking the housing, the ring of elastic adhesive, and the film.

5. A mounted x-ray window, comprising:

a) a housing including;

i) an aperture;

ii) a flange encircling the aperture, the flange having an inner-side that faces an interior of the housing;

b) a film;

i) extending across the aperture;

ii) having a material composition comprising silicon nitride;

c) a ring of elastic adhesive;

i) sandwiched between the film and the inner-side of the flange;

ii) forming a hermetic-seal to the housing;

d) an annular-support;

i) having an opening;

ii) attached to a perimeter of the film with the film extending across the opening;

iii) located on an opposite side of the film from the ring of elastic adhesive;

iv) having a material composition comprising silicon; and

v) including a sloped-face at the opening with a smaller inner diameter adjacent to the film sloping to a larger inner diameter farther from the film.

6. The mounted x-ray window of claim 5, wherein the opening of the annular-support aligns with the aperture of the housing.

7. A mounted x-ray window comprising:

a) a housing including;

i) an aperture;

ii) a flange encircling the aperture, the flange having an inner-side that faces an interior of the housing;

b) a film located on the inner-side of the flange and extending across the aperture; and

c) a ring of elastic adhesive, a sheet of elastic adhesive, or both;

i) sandwiched between the film and the inner-side of the flange; and

ii) forming a hermetic-seal to the housing.

8. The mounted x-ray window of claim 7, further comprising the ring of elastic adhesive encircling the aperture of the housing.

9. The mounted x-ray window of claim 8, wherein the film includes graphene.

10. The mounted x-ray window of claim 8, wherein the film includes a polymer.

11. The mounted x-ray window of claim 8, wherein the film has a material composition comprising silicon nitride.

12. The mounted x-ray window of claim 8, wherein the film includes a silicon nitride thin film sandwiched between two aluminum thin films.

13. The mounted x-ray window of claim 8, wherein the ring of elastic adhesive is capable of withstanding a temperature of at least 300°

C. without failure of the hermetic-seal.

14. The mounted x-ray window of claim 8, wherein the ring of elastic adhesive has a modulus of elasticity of less than 5 GPa.

15. The mounted x-ray window of claim 8, wherein:

a) the housing is hermetically-sealed with an internal pressure of less than 5 pascals; and

b) the housing has a leak-rate of less than 1×

10<sup>−

14</sup> bar*L/s.

16. The mounted x-ray window of claim 8, wherein:

a) the housing has two openings, the aperture and a distal-opening, opposite of each other and located at opposite ends of the housing; and

b) the distal-opening is larger than a diameter of the flange, measured inside of the housing.

17. The mounted x-ray window of claim 8, further comprising an annular-support, wherein:

a) the annular-support is attached to a perimeter of the film;

b) the annular-support has an opening;

c) the film extends across the opening of the annular-support; and

d) the annular-support is located on an opposite side of the film from the ring of elastic adhesive.

18. The mounted x-ray window of claim 17, wherein the opening of the annular-support aligns with the aperture of the housing.

19. The mounted x-ray window of claim 17, wherein:

a) a difference between a coefficient of thermal expansion of the housing and a coefficient of thermal expansion the annular-support is at least 7 μ

m/(m*K); and

b) a difference between a coefficient of thermal expansion of the film and a coefficient of thermal expansion the annular-support is less than 0.7 μ

m/(m*K).

20. The mounted x-ray window of claim 17, wherein the annular-support includes a sloped-face at the opening and the annular-support has a smaller inner diameter adjacent to the film sloping to a larger inner diameter farther from the film.