Ripple

Ripple, or voltage ripple, refers to the fluctuation in voltage output of some X-ray generators. It is given a percentage value, and calculated as 100 x (Vmax - Vmin )/Vmax (%).

Single-phase and two-phase generators have 100% ripple. Three-phase generators have ripple values between 5 and 15%. Modern X-ray generators use high-frequency inverters to create an approximate DC waveform, minimizing the ripple effect to less than 1%.

Minimizing the ripple effect is desired to increase both the quantity and quality of the X-ray beam.