A new method for producing very narrow and intense 50 MV bremsstrahlung beams with a half-width as low as 35 mm at a distance of 1 m from the target is presented. Such a beam is well suited for intensity modulation using scanned photon beams. An algorithm has been developed to minimize the width of the bremsstrahlung beam generated in a multilayer target by varying the individual layer thicknesses and atomic numbers under given constraints on the total target thickness and the mean energy of the transmitted electrons. Under such constraints the narrowest possible bremsstrahlung beam is obtained with a target composed of layers of monotonically increasing atomic number starting with the lowest possible value at the entrance side where the electrons impinge. It is also shown that the narrowest photon beam profile is associated with the highest possible forward photon yield. To be able to use the optimized target clinically it is desirable to be able to collect and stop all the electrons that are transmitted through the target. The electrons are most efficiently collected if they are kept close together, i.e. by minimizing the multiple scatter of the electrons and consequently the half-width of the generated bremsstrahlung beam. This is achieved by a thin low-atomic-number target. A dedicated electron stopper has been developed and integrated with the purging magnet. When the electron stopper is combined with a purging magnet, a primary photon collimator and a multileaf collimator, almost all of the transmitted electrons and their associated bremsstrahlung contamination can effectively be collected. The narrow photon beams from thin low-atomic-number targets have the additional advantage of producing the hardest and most penetrative photon spectrum possible, which is ideal for treating large deep-seated tumours.