Comparison of simulated and measured spectra of an industrial 450 kV X-ray tube

An accurate knowledge of the X-ray source spectrum is required in order to optimize X-ray Computed Tomography systems. A simulation model based on the Monte Carlo code GEANT4 was developed to determine the X-ray spectrum generated by a 450 kV tube. The X-ray spectra were measured using a Cadmium Telluride stack detector. The measured spectra were corrected for spurious detector effects and detector efficiency. The X-ray spectra simulated by GEANT4 were validated by comparison with X-ray spectra measured at 350, 400 and 450 kV. We observed a good agreement between the simulated and the measured X-ray spectra. In addition, we simulated and measured attenuation curves using aluminium and copper filtration. The comparison of the attenuation curves shows an excellent agreement.