Abstract: A multitarget x-ray tube which generates a number of x-ray beams of different characteristics in any desired combinations and/or sequences and in which cross-talk is reduced and beam purity is enhanced. The tube can be used in applications such as elemental analysis of materials by x-ray fluorescence, in which a sample is excited with x-rays from a primary source and in response releases x-ray photons having energies characteristic of the elements present in the sample, and in applications in which it can replace a radioactive source.