Patent ID: 10276339

Abstract:
The purpose is to make it possible to autonomously suppress a reduction in an electron beam without providing a means for supervising the electron beam intensity of a monitor or the like. An electron gun, provided with: a heater (12) in which one terminal serves as a heater terminal (H) and the other terminal serves as a shared terminal (HK), and in which a low-voltage power supply (21) is connected between the terminals, the heater (12) generating heat due to a current being supplied from the low-voltage power supply (21); and a cathode electrode (11) connected to the shared terminal (HK) and heated by the heater (12) to discharge thermal electrons. A cathode current (Ik) due to the thermal electrons discharged from the cathode electrode (11), and a current (Ih) due to the low-voltage power supply, flow in opposite directions through the heater (12).