Electron source, electron gun and application of electron source

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of electron sources, and provides an electron source, an electron gun and application of the electron source, and the electron source comprises an input optical fiber which comprises at least one pulse laser input optical fiber and at least one continuous laser input optical fiber; the pulse laser input optical fiber and the continuous laser input optical fiber are connected to the output optical fiber; the electron emitter comprises an electron excitation layer arranged on the laser emitting end face of the output optical fiber, the electron excitation layer is located on a laser emitting path of the output optical fiber, and the electron excitation layer comprises at least one of a zero-dimensional material, a one-dimensional material and a two-dimensional material; and the conductive connecting layer is arranged on the output optical fiber and is connected with the electron excitation layer. The electron source is high in electron emission efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of electron sources, and in particular to an electron source, an electron gun, and applications of the electron source. Background Art

[0002] An electron source is a device that generates vacuum electrons. Traditional electron sources are mainly divided into thermal emission electron sources, field emission electron sources, and photoemission electron sources according to the excitation method. Thermal emission electron sources mainly use metal materials. When heated to thousands of degrees Celsius, electrons are thermally excited and detach from the surface of the material to form vacuum electrons. Field emission electron sources mainly use metal needle tips. Under the action of a strong electric field applied from the outside, a tip discharge effect is generated. Photoemission electron sources use metal materials as photocathodes and use laser irradiation to excite the photocathode material, thereby generating electrons. However, in traditional technologies, photoemission electron sources mostly use a single-wavelength near-infrared laser to irradiate the metal needle tip from the side, which has disadvantages such as low emission efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides an electron source, an electron gun, and an application of the electron source with high electron emission efficiency.

[0004] In a first aspect, the present application provides an electron source, comprising:

[0005] Input optical fibers, including at least one pulsed laser input optical fiber and at least one continuous laser input optical fiber;

[0006] An output optical fiber, wherein the pulse laser input optical fiber and the continuous laser input optical fiber are both connected to the output optical fiber;

[0007] an electron emitter, comprising an electron excitation layer disposed on the laser emitting end face of the output optical fiber, the electron excitation layer being located on the laser emitting path of the output optical fiber, the electron excitation layer comprising at least one of a zero-dimensional material, a one-dimensional material, and a two-dimensional material;

[0008] A conductive connecting layer is provided on the output optical fiber and connected to the electron excitation layer.

[0009] In some embodiments, the pulse laser input into the pulse laser input fiber has a wavelength of 700 nm to 2000 nm, a power of 1 nW to 500 mW, and a pulse frequency of 1 kHz to 100 MHz.

[0010] In some embodiments, the wavelength of the continuous laser input into the continuous laser input fiber is 200 nm to 1000 nm, and the power is 1 nW to 500 mW.

[0011] In some embodiments, the electron source further includes a fiber combiner, which is provided with at least two fiber input interfaces and one fiber output interface, the light output ends of the input fibers are respectively connected to the fiber input interfaces, and the light input ends of the output fibers are respectively connected to the fiber output interfaces.

[0012] In some embodiments, the thickness of the electron excitation layer is 0.1 nm to 100 nm.

[0013] In some embodiments, the electron emitter further includes an auxiliary layer, which is stacked on a side of the electron excitation layer close to the output optical fiber; or, the auxiliary layer is stacked on a side of the electron excitation layer away from the output optical fiber, and the auxiliary layer is used to assist in supporting the electron excitation layer.

[0014] In some embodiments, the auxiliary layer includes at least one of a conductive support layer and a heat dissipation support layer.

[0015] In some embodiments, the auxiliary layer has a thickness of 0.1 nm to 100 nm and a light transmittance of ≥10%.

[0016] In some embodiments, the zero-dimensional material includes at least one of quantum dots, fullerenes, NV color centers, and nanocrystals.

[0017] In some embodiments, the one-dimensional material includes at least one of a nanotube, a nanoribbon, and a nanowire.

[0018] In some embodiments, the two-dimensional material includes at least one of graphene, black phosphorus, MX2 and hexagonal boron nitride, wherein M includes at least one of Mo, W and Cr, and X includes at least one of S, Se and Te.

[0019] In a second aspect, the present application provides an electron gun, comprising a housing, a grid, an anode, and the electron source as described in the first aspect;

[0020] The electron source is fixed in the shell, and the grid and the anode are sequentially arranged on the electron emission side of the electron source.

[0021] In a third aspect, the present application provides an application of the electron source as described in the first aspect, wherein the electron source is used to prepare at least one of an electron microscope, an electron beam exposure machine, an X-ray tube, a free electron laser and a display.

[0022] Compared with traditional technologies, this application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0023] This application utilizes a combination of pulsed laser and continuous laser to jointly excite the electron excitation layer to generate electrons. During the excitation process, the continuous laser can cause the electrons in the electron excitation layer to jump from the valence band to the conduction band, and then under the action of the pulsed laser, the electrons in the conduction band in the electron excitation layer are excited and emitted to form a pulsed electron beam, thereby effectively improving the electron emission efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of an electron source provided in one embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the electronic excitation principle provided in one embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 3 This is a schematic structural diagram of another electron source provided in one embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 4 This is a schematic structural diagram of an electron gun provided in one embodiment of the present application.

[0028] Among them, 100-electron source; 110-input optical fiber; 111-pulsed laser input optical fiber; 112-continuous laser input optical fiber; 120-output optical fiber; 130-electron emitter; 131-electron excitation layer; 132-auxiliary layer; 140-conductive connection layer; 150-fiber combiner; 151-fiber input interface; 152-fiber output interface; 200-gate; 300-anode. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Below in conjunction with embodiment and example, the application is further described in detail These embodiment and example are only used to illustrate the application and are not used to limit the scope of the application, and the purpose of providing these embodiment and example is to make the understanding of the disclosure of the application more thorough and comprehensive. It should also be understood that the application can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiment and example described herein. Those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications without violating the connotation of the application, and the equivalent form obtained also falls within the protection scope of the application. In addition, in the description below, a large amount of specific details are given in order to provide a more complete understanding of the application, and it should be understood that the application can be implemented without one or more of these details.

[0030] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this application pertains. The terms used herein in the specification of this application are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit this application.

[0031] In this application, the terms "optionally," "optional," and "optional" mean optional or dispensable, i.e., they refer to either option being selected from two parallel options: "with" or "without." If a technical solution contains multiple "optional" clauses, each "optional" clause is independent unless otherwise specified and there are no contradictions or constraints.

[0032] In this application, the terms "first" and "second" in "the first aspect" and "the second aspect" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or quantity, nor should they be understood as implicitly indicating the importance or quantity of the technical features indicated. Furthermore, "first" and "second" serve only as non-exhaustive enumeration and description and should be understood not to constitute a closed-ended limitation on quantity.

[0033] In this application, the technical features described in an open manner include closed technical solutions composed of the listed features, and also include open technical solutions containing the listed features.

[0034] In this application, when referring to a numerical interval (i.e., a numerical range), unless otherwise specified, the distribution of the optional numerical values ​​within the numerical interval is deemed to be continuous and includes the two numerical endpoints of the numerical interval (i.e., the minimum and maximum values), as well as each numerical value between the two numerical endpoints. Unless otherwise specified, when a numerical interval refers only to integers within the numerical interval, it includes the two endpoint integers of the numerical range, as well as each integer between the two endpoints, which is equivalent to directly listing each integer. When multiple numerical ranges are provided to describe a feature or characteristic, these numerical ranges can be combined. In other words, unless otherwise specified, the numerical ranges disclosed in this application should be understood to include any and all subranges included therein. The "numerical value" in the numerical interval can be any quantitative value, such as a number, percentage, ratio, etc. "Numerical interval" is broadly allowed to include quantitative intervals such as percentage intervals, ratio intervals, and ratio intervals.

[0035] All documents mentioned in this application are cited as references in this application, just as each document is cited as reference separately. Unless they conflict with the application purpose and / or technical solution of this application, the cited documents involved in this application are cited in their entirety and for all purposes. When cited documents are involved in this application, the definitions of relevant technical features, terms, nouns, phrases, etc. in the cited documents are also cited. When cited documents are involved in this application, the examples and preferred embodiments of the cited relevant technical features may also be incorporated into this application as references, but are limited to the ability to implement this application. It should be understood that when the cited content conflicts with the description in this application, the present application shall prevail or be adaptively amended according to the description in this application.

[0036] Traditionally, pulsed electron beams are primarily generated by excitation with a single monochromatic pulse of light, such as using pulsed near-infrared light to excite graphene or pulsed ultraviolet lasers to excite carbon nanotubes. The work function of these electron-beam-generating materials is generally greater than 4eV, corresponding to excitation wavelengths less than 300nm. However, the high vibration frequency of the photoelectric field component of short-wavelength pulsed ultraviolet light can cause electrons escaping from the metal surface to be reversely accelerated and collide with the metal tip, resulting in low electron beam generation efficiency. Consequently, most pulsed electron beams rely on the multiphoton absorption effect of pulsed near-infrared light (e.g., 1550nm wavelength) for excitation. However, due to this nonlinear absorption process, electron beam generation efficiency is also low. Furthermore, due to the damage threshold, increasing the near-infrared light power cannot improve photoelectric conversion efficiency.

[0037] The first aspect of the present application provides an electron source, such as Figure 1 As shown, the electron source 100 includes an input optical fiber 110 , an output optical fiber 120 , an electron emitter 130 and a conductive connection layer 140 .

[0038] The input optical fiber 110 includes at least one pulse laser input optical fiber 111 and at least one continuous laser input optical fiber 112. Both the pulse laser input optical fiber 111 and the continuous laser input optical fiber 112 are connected to the output optical fiber 120.

[0039] The electron emitter 130 includes an electron excitation layer 131 disposed on the laser output end face of the output optical fiber 120. The electron excitation layer 131 is located in the laser output path of the output optical fiber 120 and comprises at least one of a zero-dimensional material, a one-dimensional material, and a two-dimensional material. The conductive connection layer 140 is disposed on the output optical fiber 120 and connected to the electron excitation layer 131.

[0040] The present application utilizes a combination of pulsed laser and continuous laser to jointly excite the electron excitation layer 131 to generate electrons. During the excitation process, Figure 2 As shown, the continuous laser can make the electrons in the electron excitation layer 131 jump from the valence band to the conduction band, and then under the action of the pulsed laser, the electrons in the conduction band in the electron excitation layer 131 are excited and emitted to form a pulsed electron beam, which effectively improves the electron emission efficiency.

[0041] This application uses low-dimensional materials such as zero-dimensional materials, one-dimensional materials, or two-dimensional materials as the material for the electron excitation layer 131. Low-dimensional materials have atomic-level thickness, and back-incident electrons can be emitted without being transmitted through the body, resulting in high electron emission efficiency. In addition, low-dimensional materials have no dangling bonds, are stable in nature, have a high melting point, are not easily damaged, and can be used in high-power excitation scenarios. They have the characteristics of good stability and long service life. It should be noted that low-dimensional materials in this application refer to zero-dimensional materials, one-dimensional materials, or two-dimensional materials.

[0042] In addition, low-dimensional materials can be directly integrated with optical fibers, which transmit lasers and, as a carrier of low-dimensional materials, can provide a stable excitation source with adjustable wavelength, polarization, and optical mode. It can be applied to different application scenarios without the need for complex optical paths and has the characteristics of small size and high integration.

[0043] Zero-dimensional materials typically have discrete energy levels. Under laser excitation, electrons tunnel primarily through these discrete energy levels, generating highly monochromatic electrons with concentrated energy and minimal energy dispersion. One-dimensional materials, characterized by a small radius of curvature (nanometer scale), enhance light-matter interactions and provide a large field enhancement factor, enabling multiphoton emission and light field emission, making them suitable for applications requiring high-brightness electron sources. Two-dimensional materials, characterized by their atomic-layer thickness, have little impact on the light transmission pattern during laser interaction, resulting in high stability. Furthermore, the excited electrons are emitted directly without internal scattering within the material, ensuring the purity of the emitted electrons and an extremely narrow pulse width.

[0044] In this application, zero-dimensional materials refer to materials whose three spatial dimensions are nanometer-scale, preventing electrons from moving freely. One-dimensional materials refer to materials whose electrons can move freely only in one non-nanoscale direction. Two-dimensional materials refer to materials whose electrons can move freely only in two non-nanoscale dimensions (i.e., in-plane motion). Nanoscale refers to 0.1nm to 100nm. Zero-dimensional, one-dimensional, and two-dimensional materials can be excited to emit electrons under laser excitation.

[0045] It should also be noted that, Figure 1 As shown, the purpose of providing the conductive connection layer 140 in this application is to connect the electron excitation layer 131 to the external circuit to form a complete circuit, thereby achieving charge replenishment and electric field control. The connection between the electron excitation layer 131 and the conductive connection layer 140 can be a direct contact connection or other conductive connection structures.

[0046] In some embodiments, the wavelength of the pulsed laser input into the pulsed laser input fiber 111 is 700 nm to 2000 nm, for example, it can be 700 nm, 800 nm, 900 nm, 1000 nm, 1100 nm, 1200 nm, 1300 nm, 1400 nm, 1500 nm, 1600 nm, 1700 nm, 1800 nm, 1900 nm or 2000 nm.

[0047] In some embodiments, the power of the pulsed laser input into the pulsed laser input fiber 111 is 1nW~500mW, for example, it can be 1nW, 100nW, 1μW, 10μW, 100μW, 1mW, 10mW, 100mW, 200mW, 300mW, 400mW or 500mW.

[0048] In some embodiments, the pulse frequency of the pulse laser input into the pulse laser input fiber 111 is 1kHz~100MHz, for example, it can be 1kHz, 10kHz, 100kHz, 500kHz, 1MHz, 10MHz, 20MHz, 30MHz, 40MHz, 50MHz, 60MHz, 70MHz, 80MHz, 90MHz or 100MHz.

[0049] In some embodiments, the wavelength of the continuous laser input into the continuous laser input fiber 112 is 200 nm to 1000 nm, for example, it can be 200 nm, 300 nm, 400 nm, 500 nm, 600 nm, 700 nm, 800 nm, 900 nm or 1000 nm.

[0050] In some embodiments, the power of the continuous laser input into the continuous laser input fiber 112 is 1nW~500mW, for example, it can be 1nW, 100nW, 1μW, 10μW, 100μW, 1mW, 10mW, 100mW, 200mW, 300mW, 400mW or 500mW.

[0051] The present application selects the parameters of continuous laser and pulsed laser as described above to effectively ensure the electron excitation efficiency.

[0052] It can be understood that the continuous laser input fiber 112 is connected to a laser capable of generating continuous laser light, and the pulsed laser input fiber 111 is connected to a laser capable of generating pulsed laser light.

[0053] In some embodiments, as Figure 3 As shown, the electron source 100 also includes a fiber combiner 150, which is provided with at least two fiber input interfaces 151 and a fiber output interface 152. The light output ends of the input optical fibers 110 are respectively connected to the fiber input interfaces 151, and the light input ends of the output optical fibers 120 are respectively connected to the fiber output interfaces 152.

[0054] This application utilizes a fiber combiner 150 to couple multiple continuous laser input fibers 112 and multiple pulsed laser input fibers 111, which are then outputted through an output fiber 120. This allows for the coordination of multiple continuous lasers and multiple pulsed lasers to achieve different modes of electronic excitation.

[0055] In some embodiments, the thickness of the electron excitation layer 131 is 0.1 nm to 100 nm, for example, 0.1 nm, 0.5 nm, 1 nm, 5 nm, 10 nm, 20 nm, 30 nm, 40 nm, 50 nm, 60 nm, 70 nm, 80 nm, 90 nm or 100 nm.

[0056] In some embodiments, Figure 3 As shown, the electron emitter 130 further includes an auxiliary layer 132, which is stacked on a side of the electron excitation layer 131 close to the output optical fiber 120; alternatively, the auxiliary layer 132 is stacked on a side of the electron excitation layer 131 away from the output optical fiber 120, and the auxiliary layer 132 is used to assist in supporting the electron excitation layer 131. In the present application, the auxiliary layer 132 is added, and when the electron excitation layer 131 requires structural support, the auxiliary layer 132 is used to provide structural support for the electron emission layer, that is, the electron excitation layer 131 is disposed on the auxiliary layer 132; alternatively, when the electron excitation layer 131 cannot be directly connected to the conductive connection layer 140, the conductive auxiliary layer 132 is used to connect the conductive connection layer 140, and the auxiliary layer 132 is used to achieve electronic conduction between the electron excitation layer 131 and the conductive connection layer 140.

[0057] In some embodiments, the auxiliary layer 132 includes at least one of a conductive support layer and a heat dissipation support layer.

[0058] In some embodiments, the auxiliary layer 132 has a thickness of 0.1 nm to 100 nm, for example, 0.1 nm, 0.5 nm, 1 nm, 5 nm, 10 nm, 20 nm, 30 nm, 40 nm, 50 nm, 60 nm, 70 nm, 80 nm, 90 nm, or 100 nm.

[0059] In some embodiments, the light transmittance of the auxiliary layer 132 is ≥10%, for example, it can be 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% or 99%.

[0060] In some embodiments, the zero-dimensional material includes at least one of quantum dots, fullerenes, NV color centers, and nanocrystals.

[0061] In some embodiments, the one-dimensional material includes at least one of a nanotube, a nanoribbon, and a nanowire.

[0062] In some embodiments, the two-dimensional material includes at least one of graphene, black phosphorus, MX2 and hexagonal boron nitride, wherein M includes at least one of Mo, W and Cr, and X includes at least one of S, Se and Te.

[0063] In some embodiments, the input optical fiber 110 may be a solid core optical fiber.

[0064] In some embodiments, the output optical fiber 120 can be a solid core optical fiber, a needle tip optical fiber, a side-section optical fiber, or a holey optical fiber.

[0065] In some embodiments, the material of the conductive connection layer 140 includes a conductive metal, for example, at least one of gold, silver, and copper.

[0066] In some embodiments, the thickness of the conductive connection layer 140 is 10 nm to 1 μm, for example, 10 nm, 100 nm, 200 nm, 300 nm, 400 nm, 500 nm, 600 nm, 700 nm, 800 nm, 900 nm or 1 μm.

[0067] The second aspect of the present application provides an electron gun, such as Figure 4 As shown, the electron gun includes a housing (not shown in the figure), a grid 200, an anode 300 and the electron source 100 as described in the first aspect;

[0068] The electron source 100 is fixed in the housing, and the gate 200 and the anode 300 are sequentially arranged on the electron emission side of the electron source 100 .

[0069] It should be noted that in this application, the gate 200 is used to limit the shape of the electron beam, and the anode 300 is used to accelerate the electrons. When electrons are excited and emitted from the electron source 100, they interact with the electrostatic field established by the gate 200 and the electrons' own space charge, forming an electron beam with a certain shape, which is then emitted from the anode 300 for use.

[0070] A third aspect of the present application provides an application of the electron source 100 as described in the first aspect, wherein the electron source 100 is used to prepare at least one of an electron microscope, an electron beam exposure machine, an X-ray tube, a free electron laser, and a display.

[0071] The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the examples. It should be understood that these examples are intended to illustrate the present application only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application. The experimental methods for which specific conditions are not specified in the following examples are preferably referred to the guidance provided in the present application, and can also be based on the experimental manuals or conventional conditions in this area, or according to the conditions recommended by the manufacturer, or with reference to experimental methods known in the art.

[0072] Example 1

[0073] This embodiment provides an electron source 100, including an electron emitter 130, a conductive connecting layer 140, a pulsed laser input fiber 111, a continuous laser input fiber 112, an output fiber 120 and a fiber combiner 150, wherein the pulsed laser input fiber 111, the continuous laser input fiber 112 and the output fiber 120 are all solid core fibers.

[0074] The pulsed laser input fiber 111 and the continuous laser input fiber 112 are both connected to the fiber input interface 151 of the fiber combiner 150, and the output fiber 120 is connected to the fiber output interface 152 of the fiber combiner 150. The electron emitter 130 is set on the laser output path of the output fiber 120. The electron emitter 130 is graphene with a thickness of 1 nm. The outer wall of the output fiber 120 near the laser output end is provided with a gold conductive connection layer 140 with a thickness of 60 nm. The conductive connection layer 140 is in contact with and connected to the graphene, and the conductive connection layer 140 is connected to an external power supply.

[0075] The pulse laser input into the pulse laser input fiber 111 has a wavelength of 1000 nm, a power of 300 mW, and a pulse frequency of 100 MHz. The continuous laser input into the continuous laser input fiber 112 has a wavelength of 500 nm and a power of 200 mW.

[0076] Example 2

[0077] This embodiment provides an electron source 100, including an electron emitter 130, a conductive connecting layer 140, a pulsed laser input fiber 111, a continuous laser input fiber 112, an output fiber 120 and a fiber combiner 150. The pulsed laser input fiber 111 and the continuous laser input fiber 112 are both solid-core fibers, and the output fiber 120 is a holey fiber.

[0078] The pulsed laser input fiber 111 and the continuous laser input fiber 112 are both connected to the fiber input interface 151 of the fiber combiner 150, and the output fiber 120 is connected to the fiber output interface 152 of the fiber combiner 150. The electron emitter 130 is set on the laser output path of the output fiber 120. The electron emitter 130 is graphene with a thickness of 1nm and an auxiliary layer 132 with a thickness of 50nm. The material of the auxiliary layer 132 is ITO with a transmittance of 80%. The outer wall of the output fiber 120 near the laser output end is provided with a gold conductive connection layer 140 with a thickness of 60nm. The conductive connection layer 140 is in contact with the graphene, and the conductive connection layer 140 is connected to an external power supply.

[0079] The pulse laser input into the pulse laser input fiber 111 has a wavelength of 2000 nm, a power of 200 mW, and a pulse frequency of 50 MHz. The continuous laser input into the continuous laser input fiber 112 has a wavelength of 200 nm and a power of 400 mW.

[0080] Example 3

[0081] This embodiment provides an electron source 100, including an electron emitter 130, a conductive connection layer 140, a pulsed laser input fiber 111, a first continuous laser input fiber 112, a second continuous laser input fiber 112, an output fiber 120, and a fiber combiner 150. The pulsed laser input fiber 111, the first continuous laser input fiber 112, and the second continuous laser input fiber 112 are all solid-core fibers, and the output fiber 120 is also a solid-core fiber.

[0082] The pulsed laser input fiber 111 and the continuous laser input fiber 112 are both connected to the fiber input interface 151 of the fiber combiner 150, and the output fiber 120 is connected to the fiber output interface 152 of the fiber combiner 150. The electron emitter 130 is set on the laser output path of the output fiber 120. The electron emitter 130 is graphene with a thickness of 1 nm. The outer wall of the output fiber 120 near the laser output end is provided with a gold conductive connection layer 140 with a thickness of 60 nm. The conductive connection layer 140 is in contact with and connected to the graphene, and the conductive connection layer 140 is connected to an external power supply.

[0083] The pulse laser input into the pulse laser input fiber 111 has a wavelength of 700 nm, a power of 400 mW, and a pulse frequency of 1 kHz, while the continuous laser input into the continuous laser input fiber 112 has a wavelength of 1000 nm and a power of 100 mW.

[0084] To summarize, the present application utilizes a combination of pulsed laser and continuous laser to jointly excite the electron excitation layer 131 to generate electrons. During the excitation process, the continuous laser can cause the electrons in the electron excitation layer 131 to jump from the valence band to the conduction band, and then under the action of the pulsed laser, the electrons in the conduction band in the electron excitation layer 131 are excited and emitted to form a pulsed electron beam, thereby effectively improving the electron emission efficiency.

[0085] The technical features of the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. In order to make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-mentioned embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0086] The above-described embodiments merely represent several implementation methods of the present application. While the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present application. It should be noted that a person of ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit of the present application, and such modifications and improvements fall within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application shall be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An electron source, characterized in that The electron source comprises: Input optical fibers, including at least one pulsed laser input optical fiber and at least one continuous laser input optical fiber; An output optical fiber, wherein the pulse laser input optical fiber and the continuous laser input optical fiber are both connected to the output optical fiber; an electron emitter, comprising an electron excitation layer disposed on the laser emitting end face of the output optical fiber, the electron excitation layer being located on the laser emitting path of the output optical fiber, the electron excitation layer comprising at least one of a zero-dimensional material, a one-dimensional material, and a two-dimensional material; A conductive connecting layer is provided on the output optical fiber and connected to the electron excitation layer.

2. The electron source according to claim 1, wherein The wavelength of the pulse laser input into the pulse laser input optical fiber is 700nm~2000nm, the power is 1nW~500mW, and the pulse frequency is 1kHz~100MHz.

3. The electron source according to claim 1, wherein The wavelength of the continuous laser input into the continuous laser input optical fiber is 200nm~1000nm, and the power is 1nW~500mW.

4. The electron source according to claim 1, wherein The electron source also includes a fiber combiner, which is provided with at least two fiber input interfaces and a fiber output interface. The light output ends of the input fibers are respectively connected to the fiber input interfaces, and the light input ends of the output fibers are respectively connected to the fiber output interfaces.

5. The electron source according to claim 1, wherein The thickness of the electron excitation layer is 0.1 nm to 100 nm.

6. The electron source according to claim 1, wherein The electron emitter further includes an auxiliary layer, which is stacked on a side of the electron excitation layer close to the output optical fiber; or, the auxiliary layer is stacked on a side of the electron excitation layer away from the output optical fiber, and is used to assist in supporting the electron excitation layer.

7. The electron source according to claim 6, wherein The auxiliary layer satisfies at least one of the following conditions: (1) The auxiliary layer includes at least one of a conductive support layer and a heat dissipation support layer; (2) The thickness of the auxiliary layer is 0.1 nm to 100 nm, and the transmittance is ≥10%.

8. The electron source according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The electron source further satisfies at least one of the following conditions: (1) The zero-dimensional material includes at least one of quantum dots, fullerenes, NV color centers, and nanocrystals; (2) The one-dimensional material includes at least one of a nanotube, a nanobelt, and a nanowire; (3) The two-dimensional material includes at least one of graphene, black phosphorus, MX2 and hexagonal boron nitride, wherein M includes at least one of Mo, W and Cr, and X includes at least one of S, Se and Te.

9. An electron gun, characterized in that The electron gun comprises a housing, a grid, an anode and the electron source according to any one of claims 1 to 8; The electron source is fixed in the shell, and the grid and the anode are sequentially arranged on the electron emission side of the electron source.

10. Use of the electron source according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The electron source is used to prepare at least one of an electron microscope, an electron beam exposure machine, an X-ray tube, a free electron laser and a display.

Images