Bremsstrahlung spectra produced by kilovolt electron impact on thick targets

Measurements of bremsstrahlung spectra generated by 5–25 keV electron impact on thick targets of aluminium, titanium, zirconium, molybdenum and tungsten are reported. The experimental data are compared with the simulation results of X-ray spectra obtained from the general-purpose Monte Carlo code PENELOPE, which implements accurate cross-sections for ordinary bremsstrahlung emission but disregards polarization bremsstrahlung. The agreement between the experimental and simulation results is satisfactory. This is in contrast with a recent study in which large discrepancies were observed between experimental and Monte Carlo simulation results. Our results provide evidence for the reliability of the combined choices of the interaction cross-sections and of the simulation algorithms implemented in PENELOPE for bremsstrahlung emission.