ELECTRON BEAM DEVICE WITH WIRE BEAM SOURCE

摘要

An electron beam apparatus comprises an electron source with an electron emitter in the form of a wire, suitably of metal, which slides on two supports. The two supports are constructed and spaced apart at such a distance (not more than 1 millimeter) that for the wire portion between the supports, a thermal equilibrium is achieved which is optimum for high electron emission from a small area of the wire. The wire can be heated to a temperature just below its melting point and is transported across the support under a low tensile stress.