ABSTRACT
In this chapter, some important features of x-ray tube design are explained, and those aspects are defined that are important for the modelling approaches presented later in the book. The text begins with a discussion of the evolution of the x-ray tube since Roentgen's discovery of x rays. It then introduces the essential parameters and terminology required to understand emissions from thick-target x-ray tubes. The text then moves on to provide insight into application-specific x-ray tube design. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the how x-ray tubes are typically represented in analytical models and in models using Monte Carlo simulation.
