Quasi-monochromatic field-emission x-ray source.

By favoring the L-peak emission over the bremsstrahlung part, direct quasi-monochromatic soft x-ray emission has been obtained with a field emission (FE) x-ray source. The electron impact x-ray setup uses an arrayed cathode of carbon nanopearl FE tips as a stable cold electron source within a vacuum of 10(-6)-10(-7) Torr. The high brightness of the FE e-beam coupled with the array structure of the cold cathode allows a smoother control of the x-ray emission intensity. The wavelength of the x-ray source can be modified by the choice of target materials. Using Mo as the target material, the x-ray emission shows a peak centered at 2.45 keV with a monochromaticity between 75% and 55% and a FWHM in the range of 450 eV.