Edge shadow projection method for measuring the brightness of electron guns

The performance of an electron gun is evaluated in terms of the gun brightness. The brightness of an electron gun is typically measured by dividing the angular current density by the virtual source area. An electron gun brightness measurement system was constructed without an electron lens. The system consists of movable apertures (∅ 30, 50, 100, 200 μm), a Faraday cup, and a phosphor screen. The Faraday cup is employed to measure the angular current density. The electron beam passes through an aperture and its shade is projected onto the phosphor screen. The virtual source position is determined by measuring the displacement of the aperture shade made by the movement of the aperture. The blurring width of the edge of the shadow on the screen is measured by a charged-coupled device camera to calculate the virtual source size. Brightness values of a tungsten filament electron gun were obtained and compared to reported values.