An X-ray source you can rebuild: our microfocus X-ray tube line against Hamamatsu, Excillum NanoTube and Nikon's in-house targets.
Excillum resolves 150 nm and Hamamatsu ships a sealed 150 kV head that just works. Both answers assume the tube is a consumable bought again from the same country. An open tube with replaceable targets and filaments answers a different question.
Our microfocus X-ray 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.
Side by side
| Attribute | Represented by UnstratMicrofocus X-ray systems | Hamamatsu PhotonicsL12161-07 150 kV microfocus X-ray source1Japan | ExcillumNanoTube N3 (60 / 110 / 160 kV)2Sweden | Nikon MetrologyXT H Series microfocus sources (180 kV transmission, 225 kV reflection, multi-metal, Rotating.Target 2.0)3Japan / Belgium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voltage range123Above 225 kV this comparison thins out quickly. For CT of thick castings, none of the three publishes a 300 kV option. | 160 to 300 kV, in 160, 190, 225, 240 and 300 kV nominal ratings | 0 to 150 kV setting range, 40 to 150 kV operational | 40 to 60 kV, 40 to 110 kV or 40 to 160 kV by model | 180 kV transmission, 225 kV reflection, multi-metal and rotating targets |
| Resolution or spot size123 | JIMA down to 0.5 µm; transmission tubes to 1 µm detectability, with a 0.2 µm high-resolution target for CT | 7 µm nominal in small focus mode, 5 µm at 4 W; 20 µm middle focus; 50 µm large focus | Minimum resolution 150 nm across all three models, with long-term spot stability below 100 nm | 1 µm up to 3 W rising to 20 µm at 20 W on the 180 kV transmission target; 3 µm up to 7 W rising to 225 µm at 225 W on the 225 kV reflection target |
| Power on target123 | Reflection tubes to 300 W target and 350 W emission; dual-head XC line at 300 W reflection and 10 W transmission | 10 W small focus, 30 W middle focus, 75 W large focus maximum output | 3.6 W at 60 kV, 9.2 W at 110 kV, 16.6 W at 160 kV | 20 W on the 180 kV transmission target, 225 W on the 225 kV reflection target, 450 W on Rotating.Target 2.0 |
| Tube construction123 | Open tube with vacuum unit; targets and filaments are replaceable | Sealed tube with integrated high voltage power supply and no high voltage cable connection | Transmission target of tungsten on diamond with a LaB6 high-brightness emitter, described as a long-life cathode | Open tube stated to allow local maintenance of internal tube components; targets user-interchangeable, with Auto.Filament Control stated to double filament lifetime |
| Target materials offered123 | Be/W and diamond/W transmission targets; exchangeable Cu, Ag, Mo and Cr heads on the dual-head XC line with automatic recognition | Tungsten target, beryllium output window 0.2 mm thick | Tungsten on diamond | Multi-metal reflection target offered at 225 kV alongside the standard reflection target |
| Geometry options123 | Reflection, transmission, rod-anode and dual-head families; rod lengths 10 to 1,000 mm with SUPERFOCUS at 580, 730 and 960 mm | Fixed geometry, beam angle approximately 43°, focus to object distance approximately 17 mm | Cone-shaped front for close sample access, minimum focus-object distance 150 µm; head mountable upright, flat or vertical | Four interchangeable target heads on a single 225 kV source, with motorised focus-to-imager distance on the ST 2x |
| Stated service life123 | System lifetime up to 20 years, because targets and filaments are replaced rather than the tube | Not published | Not published as a lifetime; long-life cathode and elimination of the filament stated | Not published as a lifetime; filament lifetime stated to be doubled by Auto.Filament Control |
| Head mass and installation123 | Not published | X-ray tube unit approximately 13.5 kg, control unit approximately 6 kg, single phase 100 to 240 V, under 220 W | Head 689 × 210 × 400 mm including cables, plus a 4U power module, a 4U chiller, a 1U control computer and a floor-standing HV generator, mountable up to 5 m from the head | Not published separately from the system |
| Where the source is serviced123 | Engineered and supported in-country on an independent, non-aligned supply line | Not addressed in the datasheet | Not addressed in the datasheet | Not addressed in the brochure beyond local maintenance of internal tube components |
Competitor values are quoted from the vendor documents listed under Sources, as published on the date shown. Configurations vary, so treat every row as a starting point for the evaluation rather than a like-for-like test result.
What the table means
Excillum is the resolution benchmark. Concede it and move on.
The NanoTube N3 publishes 150 nm minimum resolution and better than 100 nm long-term spot stability, on a LaB6 emitter firing at a tungsten-on-diamond transmission target. Nothing in our range claims that. What the N3 also is: 16.6 W maximum on target at 160 kV, delivered as a head plus power module, chiller, control computer and a floor-standing high voltage generator. It is a nanoCT and X-ray microscopy source. For CT of a thick casting or a munition section, its power budget rules it out and ours does not.
Sealed is simpler until the day it wears out.
Hamamatsu's L12161-07 is a clean piece of engineering: 5 µm at 4 W, 75 W maximum, integrated high voltage supply, no high voltage cable, 13.5 kg. It is also a sealed tube. When the target degrades, you buy another tube, from Japan, under whatever the export conditions of the day happen to be. Our tubes are open, vacuum-pumped, with replaceable targets and filaments, which is why we state a system lifetime of up to 20 years. Nikon reaches for the same argument, describing its open tube as allowing local maintenance of internal components and a lower cost of ownership. On this point Nikon and our principal agree, and Hamamatsu takes the other side.
Rod-anode and dual-head geometries are where the field runs out.
None of the three published documents in this comparison offers a rod anode. Our RA, RAC and SUPERFOCUS lines run from 10 mm to 1,000 mm of rod, which is how you image the inside of a bore, a small-diameter weld or a tube from within. The dual-head XC line carries exchangeable Cu, Ag, Mo and Cr heads with automatic recognition, so material contrast can be tuned without changing sources. That is not a resolution argument, it is an access argument, and access is what decides whether an inspection is possible at all.
Questions buyers ask
What is the best alternative to Hamamatsu or Excillum microfocus sources for a country that wants to service its own X-ray tubes?
Both are excellent sources and neither is designed to be rebuilt where you use it. Hamamatsu's L12161-07 is sealed, with the high voltage supply integrated, and Excillum's NanoTube N3 is a complete subsystem with its own generator and chiller. Our microfocus tube families are open tubes with a vacuum unit, replaceable targets and replaceable filaments, rated to 160 to 300 kV, with a stated system lifetime up to 20 years and support in-country.
How does the microfocus X-ray tube line compare with Excillum NanoTube N3 on resolution?
Excillum is finer. The N3 publishes 150 nm minimum resolution across 60, 110 and 160 kV with spot stability better than 100 nm. Our tube line publishes JIMA down to 0.5 µm and transmission detectability to 1 µm, with a 0.2 µm high-resolution CT target. The trade is power and range: the N3 delivers 3.6 to 16.6 W on target, while our reflection tubes reach 300 W on target and 350 W emission at up to 300 kV, which is what thick-section CT needs.
Why does tube lifetime matter more than spot size for a national inspection programme?
Because a source that cannot be replaced grounds the whole cell. A sealed tube ends its life as a purchase order in another jurisdiction; an ageing system with no available source becomes scrap. Our microfocus X-ray tubes are open, with targets and filaments changed in service, giving a stated lifetime up to 20 years. Over a twenty-year sustainment horizon, that is the specification that decides availability, not the last half micron of resolution.
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 at up to 300 W for high-power CT and DR, rod anode for restricted-access geometries, and dual-head with Cu, Ag, Mo and Cr targets for material contrast. Specify the two hardest jobs in your workload, then pick the configuration that covers both.
Sources
- 1. Hamamatsu Photonics, 150 kV Microfocus X-ray Source L12161-07 (TXPR1023E) (copy held on this site)Retrieved: 2026-07-31
- 2. Excillum, NanoTube N3 datasheet (copy held on this site)Retrieved: 2026-07-31 · Same figures published on the NanoTube N3 product page at excillum.com.
- 3. Nikon Metrology, XT H Series: Advanced Industrial X-ray and CT (XT H Series_2CE-NNKH-5_1023) (copy held on this site)Retrieved: 2026-07-31