Microfocus X-ray systems

Open tube or sealed microfocus X-ray tube: which is better?

Sealed is simpler until the day it wears out. Hamamatsu's L12161-07 is clean engineering, 5 µm at 4 W with an integrated high voltage supply and no high voltage cable, and it is a sealed tube: when the target degrades you buy another tube from Japan under whatever export conditions apply that year. The microfocus tubes are open and vacuum-pumped with replaceable targets and filaments, which is why we state a system lifetime of up to 20 years. Nikon takes the same side of the argument for its own open tubes.

See: Open against sealed, row by row, The microfocus tube families

Microfocus X-ray tube supplier up to 300 kV

Above 225 kV the field thins out quickly. The microfocus range covers 160 to 300 kV in nominal ratings of 160, 190, 225, 240 and 300 kV, with reflection tubes to 300 W on target and 350 W emission. Hamamatsu's comparable head is 150 kV, Excillum's NanoTube N3 runs to 160 kV, and Nikon publishes 180 kV transmission and 225 kV reflection targets. For CT of thick castings, none of those three publishes a 300 kV option.

See: Voltage and power ranges, Where the comparison thins out

How long does a microfocus X-ray tube last?

It depends on whether the tube can be rebuilt. Sealed tubes end their life as a purchase order in another jurisdiction. The microfocus tubes are open, with a vacuum unit and targets and filaments changed in service, giving a stated system lifetime of up to 20 years. Neither Hamamatsu nor Excillum publishes a lifetime figure; Nikon states that its Auto.Filament Control doubles filament lifetime.

See: Stated service life compared

What is a rod-anode X-ray tube used for?

Access. A rod anode puts the focal spot at the end of a long thin anode so the source can reach inside a bore, a small-diameter weld or a tube and image it from within. Our RA, RAC and SUPERFOCUS lines run from 10 mm to 1,000 mm of rod, with SUPERFOCUS at 580, 730 and 960 mm. None of Hamamatsu, Excillum or Nikon publishes a rod-anode option in the documents we compare.

See: Rod-anode and dual-head families, The geometries the field runs out on

Sub-micron X-ray source for semiconductor package imaging

Our transmission tubes reach 1 µm detectability with a 0.2 µm high-resolution target for CT, and JIMA resolution down to 0.5 µm across the range, on the THE, THE Plus and TCNF lines with Be/W or diamond/W targets. Be clear about the benchmark: Excillum's NanoTube N3 publishes 150 nm minimum resolution and spot stability better than 100 nm, which is finer than anything we claim. The trade is power, since the N3 delivers 3.6 to 16.6 W on target.

See: Transmission tube specification, Resolution against Excillum

High-power X-ray source for CT of thick castings

Thick-section CT is a power problem before it is a resolution problem. The microfocus reflection tubes deliver up to 300 W on target and 350 W emission at up to 300 kV, which is the regime that gets photons through a dense casting in a workable exposure. Excillum's nanofocus range peaks at 16.6 W and Hamamatsu's sealed head at 75 W, both aimed at fine imaging rather than heavy sections. Nikon publishes 225 W on its reflection target and 450 W on Rotating.Target 2.0.

See: Reflection tube power, Power on target compared

X-ray tube with exchangeable target materials for material contrast

The dual-head XC line carries exchangeable Cu, Ag, Mo and Cr heads with automatic recognition, rated at 300 W reflection and 10 W transmission, so contrast can be tuned to the material without changing sources. Hamamatsu publishes a tungsten target with a beryllium window, Excillum tungsten on diamond, and Nikon offers a multi-metal reflection target at 225 kV. Match the target to the material you inspect most often, then check what the second most common material costs you in exposure time.

See: Dual-head XC line, Target materials offered

Can we replace a filament or a target locally instead of returning the tube?

That is the design intent. The microfocus tubes are open with a vacuum unit, and both targets and filaments are replaceable, which is why the stated system lifetime reaches 20 years rather than ending when a sealed insert wears out. Nikon argues the same case for its open tube, describing local maintenance of internal components and a lower cost of ownership. Hamamatsu takes the other side with a sealed unit.

See: Tube construction compared

Alternative to Hamamatsu or Excillum microfocus sources for a national inspection programme

Both are excellent sources and neither is designed to be rebuilt where you use it: the L12161-07 is sealed with its high voltage supply integrated, and the NanoTube N3 arrives as a subsystem with its own generator and chiller. The microfocus line gives you open tubes across four families at 160 to 300 kV, with replaceable targets and filaments, a stated lifetime up to 20 years, and engineering and support in-country.

See: Full source comparison, The four microfocus tube families

Why does tube lifetime matter more than spot size over a twenty-year sustainment horizon?

Because a source that cannot be replaced grounds the whole cell, and an ageing system with no available tube becomes scrap regardless of how sharp its images once were. The microfocus tubes are open, with targets and filaments changed in service, giving a stated lifetime of up to 20 years. Over two decades that specification decides availability. The last half micron of resolution decides very little if the system is dark.

See: Lifetime and serviceability, The sustainment argument

Can a single microfocus source cover both electronics packaging and thick castings?

No, and be sceptical of anyone who says otherwise. Nikon solves it with four interchangeable target heads on one 225 kV source. We solve it with four tube families: transmission for sub-micron package work, reflection to 300 W for high-power CT and radiography, rod anode for restricted-access geometries, and dual-head with Cu, Ag, Mo and Cr for material contrast. Specify the two hardest jobs in your workload and pick the configuration that covers both.

See: Family-by-family specification, How the vendors split the range

Are these tubes fielded in working systems or supplied as components for evaluation?

Fielded. The microfocus tubes are the source inside working inspection cells across automotive, aerospace, electronics, energy and space applications, in four families covering high-power CT through to sub-micron package imaging. They are engineered and supported in-country, which is the point: the most consumable and most export-sensitive part of an inspection system stops being a foreign dependency.

See: Applications and families

What is the single foreign dependency most likely to ground our ageing X-ray systems, and how do we remove it?

The source. Detectors and software can usually be substituted, but a dead sealed tube with no supply route stops the cell outright, and tube supply is where export conditions bite hardest. Removing the dependency means an open tube whose targets and filaments are replaced locally, supplied by an organisation that engineers and supports it in-country on an independent, non-aligned line. That is what the microfocus range is built around.

See: Where the source is serviced, Open-tube design

We are specifying a new CT cell. How should the source, the manipulator and the software be procured together?

As one capability, or you will own three warranties and no accountability. The source sets the resolution and the penetration, the manipulator decides which parts can physically be scanned, and the software decides whether the result is auditable. All three come from the same team here: microfocus tubes at 160 to 300 kV, manipulators from 160 kV to 15 MeV built to the task, and an imaging suite with ASTM detector-validation tools and an optional CT module.

See: Sources, Manipulators built to the part, Acquisition and review software

What figures about your tubes do you not publish, and should that worry us?

Three, and you should ask about all of them. We do not publish maximum power on target for the transmission families, only for reflection and dual-head. We do not publish tube head mass, cooling requirement or power supply specification, all of which Hamamatsu and Excillum state. And we do not publish a target replacement interval, which is the evidence behind the 20-year lifetime claim. None of that is unknowable, it is simply not on the page, so ask for it in writing at tender stage.

See: Published figures on both sides

What are Microfocus X-ray systems?

Microfocus X-ray systems are Unstrat's Land (Land Domain) capability: The microfocus X-ray systems are the source at the heart of high-resolution radiography and computed tomography, engineered and supported in-country so the most consumable, most export-sensitive part of an inspection cell no longer depends on a foreign OEM. Four tube families, reflection, transmission, rod-anode and dual-head, cover everything from high-power CT of thick castings to sub-micron imaging of semiconductor packages, with JIMA resolution down to 0.5 µm across a 160–300 kV range. Every tube uses an open, vacuum-pumped design whose targets and filaments are replaceable, extending system lifetime to as much as twenty years rather than scrapping a sealed tube when it wears out. Modular geometry lets each tube be configured to the task by target material, beam geometry and rod-anode length, and the rod-anode and dual-head lines extend the source into geometries and target materials a single fixed tube cannot reach, with rod lengths from 10 to 1,000 mm and exchangeable Cu, Ag, Mo and Cr heads. For a nation sustaining inspection capability over decades, an open, locally serviced microfocus source removes the single dependency that most often grounds an ageing X-ray system.

How do Microfocus X-ray systems work?

Microfocus X-ray systems deliver their effect through four tube families, reflection, transmission, rod-anode and dual-head, spanning high-power CT to sub-micron package imaging, JIMA resolution down to 0.5 µm across a 160 – 300 kV range, with nominal voltages of 160/190/225/240/300 kV and Open-tube design with a vacuum unit whose targets and filaments are replaceable: system lifetime up to 20 years rather than a scrapped sealed tube, capabilities matched to the requirement and confirmed under briefing rather than published.

Who makes Microfocus X-ray systems?

Microfocus X-ray systems are built by The NDT Systems House, whose focus is non-destructive testing. Unstrat represents The NDT Systems House to government and enterprise buyers worldwide as an independent, non-aligned prime vendor.

Who uses Microfocus X-ray systems?

Government and enterprise buyers acquire Microfocus X-ray systems to address ageing defence electronics across the land domain, matched to the mission and accountable to them, not to a foreign vendor's government.

Why choose Microfocus X-ray systems over a major-power alternative?

Microfocus X-ray systems are sourced from an independent, non-aligned manufacturer, so they carry no major-power disclosure rules, upgrade-locks or political ramifications. Concretely: Open-tube design with replaceable targets and filaments: system lifetime up to 20 years, serviced in-country. The capability is accountable to you, not to a foreign vendor's government and its release schedule.

How are Microfocus X-ray systems procured, and where can it be exported?

An open, locally serviced X-ray source with a lifetime measured in decades, removing the single foreign dependency that most often grounds an ageing inspection system. Every engagement begins with a briefing, and export eligibility is confirmed per market under briefing rather than published. Where controlled capabilities are involved, the classification and end-user-certificate chain is confirmed first. Microfocus X-ray systems are then sustained in-region by one accountable team from briefing through long-term operation.