We present x-ray spectra obtained by a charge coupled device (CCD) from an electron impacting x-ray source using several kinds of electron targets: Au, Al–bronze, Al, and pure Al. The x rays from the source are dispersed by a grating and the dispersed x rays are focused on the CCD. Owing to the fine spatial and moderate energy resolutions of the CCD, fine spectra with 2 eV energy resolution up to 2.2 keV are obtained. X rays from the pure Al target (99.999&percent; purity) provide good continuum x rays except for AlKx rays. This continuum source is useful as a calibration source for low energy x-ray detectors. ©1998 American Institute of Physics.