X-ray tubes for more than half a century

Did you know that Malvern Panalytical is the only supplier of analytical (X-ray) instrumentation that also develops and produces its own X-ray tubes?

The X-ray tube factory resides in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The modern clean rooms and logical flow layout facilitate new technology innovation, efficient production, and excellent quality control. After the move from the old facility to the new factory in August 2011, all our technical processes have been optimized to the new building, so as to optimally exploit its potential and further improve our X-ray tube quality.

All products are benefitting from the optimized manufacturing conditions. In particular the latest and most innovative ones: SST-mAX, Empyrean Tube, and Epsilon Tube. At the time, the X-ray tube factory was the latest milestone in Malvern Panalytical’s long history of X-ray tube innovation.

A bit of history

After World War II, Philips developed the X-ray diffraction (XRD) glass tube which today is still a world standard. After that came the renowned 100 kV XRF side window tube for sequential spectrometry and the end window tube for simultaneous spectrometry.

During the early seventies, Philips decided to separate their analytical and medical tube activities and built the first and only X-ray tube factory in the world dedicated to XRD and XRF tubes. This created a 100% focus on analytical tube innovation and manufacturing and led to the development of the first ceramic analytical tube, the XRF Target Transmission Tube. In the early nineties, the revolutionary ceramic XRD-C and SST were developed.

These two successful tubes then formed the basis for further groundbreaking innovations: thinner beryllium windows, higher power, better spectral purity, enhanced stability, and longer life. This has led to today’s Empyrean Tube and SST-mAX CHI-BLUE, incorporating more than 50 years of X-ray tube experience and know-how.

X-ray tube innovation is never at an end. Malvern Panalytical continues to be dedicated to new technology development and the creation of new user benefits. The X-ray tube factory provides the perfect basis for many new developments in years to come.

If you are a user of X-ray tubes, then make sure to check this blog that lists 16 tips to prolong your X-ray tube’s lifespan.