29 Jun 18

Evince & partners start £1.42m European funded development

Evince Technology (Evince), X-RAY Worx (based near Hannover, Germany) and Magnatek (Aarhus, Denmark) have today announced the start of a new industrial collaboration to help further commercialise Evince’s unique diamond-based vacuum electron source (VES) and high voltage diode technologies for use in a new generation of x-ray sources.

The two year project, called RADICLE X-Ray, is being supported with £1.42M (€1.585M) of R&D funding via the Eurostars programme and will allow the three companies to pool their resources and expertise to deliver a prototype micro-focus x-ray generator tube and associated power supply. The two devices will fully exploit the potential performance advantages of Evince’s embedded field emission VES and diode technologies, and will lead to the world’s first diamond-based x-ray tube system using diamond in both the electron source and high voltage generator. Target applications for the new system include nano- and micro-focus inspection, CT imaging, 3D visualisation and scientific research.

The RADICLE-X-Ray partnership is a really exciting opportunity for Evince to demonstrate our fundamentally new approach to diamond electronics in not one but two parts of an x-ray system. Both build on the same core technology but in two very different devices that will help set new benchmarks for device robustness and performance.
Gareth Taylor, CEO of Evince Technology

Holger Behnsen, managing director of X-RAY Worx added: “A diamond-based electron source could significantly increase the lifetime, efficiency and performance of x-ray generators, providing instant-on with no need for pre-heating, eliminating the need for thermal management and requiring almost minimal maintenance during long-term use.”

Henrik Ibsen, CEO of Magnatek said: “Magnatek will incorporate Evince’s diamond-based diodes into a new high voltage supply, offering significant new features and potentially enabling the company to further expand and strengthen its position in fast-growing x-ray markets such as baggage screening, industrial CT scanning and electronics circuit board screening.”