ABSTRACT
The historic term “generator” does not exactly reflect the function of this device. If we ignore niche products utilizing pyroelectric (see Section I, Chapter 6 of this book), as produced by the company Amptek, Bedford, MA, USA, piezoelectric, see Gall et al. (2013), ferroelectric, see Altgilbers (2009), or triboelectric effects, see Hird et al. (2011), to generate high voltage with low current, typical medical diagnostic high-voltage supplies do not per se generate any electrical energy. They rather convert AC mains power to high-voltage DC output, and usually augment the function of X-ray tubes with a variety of auxiliary signals and electrical supply. In this sense, X-ray generators are intelligent voltage step-up and current step-down electronics, delivering the required tube voltage for the generation of X-rays and other power.
