Electron gun, three-dimensional additive manufacturing apparatus, and electron gun control method

摘要

There is disclosed a method of controlling an electron gun without causing decreases in brightness of the electron beam if a current-limiting aperture cannot be used. The electron gun (10) has a cathode (11), a Wehnelt electrode (12), a control electrode (13), an anode (14), and a controller (22). The Wehnelt electrode (12) has a first opening in which the tip of the cathode is inserted, and focuses thermal electrons emitted from the tip of the cathode (11). The thermal electrons emitted from the tip of the cathode (11) are caused to pass into a second opening by the control electrode (13). The anode (14) accelerates the thermal electrons emitted from the cathode (11) such that the thermal electrons passed through the second opening pass through a third opening and impinge as an electron beam (B1) on a powdered sample (8). The controller (22) sets the bias voltage and the control voltage based on combination conditions of the bias voltage and control voltage to maintain the brightness of the beam constant.