Lanthanum Boride (LaB6) Cathode

The unique electron emission characteristics of LaB6 make it particularly suitable for applications where high-current, high-brightness electron beams are required. It is commonly used in electron microscopy, electron beam lithography, electron beam welding, and other similar technologies. LaB6 cathodes can generate electron beams with high brightness and low energy spread, making them ideal for achieving fine resolution and high-quality imaging in microscopy and lithography systems.
Chemical stability for LaB6 is high, making it a stable and easy-to-use material. At room temperature, it only reacts with few strong acids and won’t react with water and air. It would be oxidized only at temperature above 600°C. The product of reaction between LaB6 and residue gas in the working environment usually has lower boil point, and they evaporate in the high temperature working environment. Thus, LaB6 can maintain a clean surface and provide long service life.
Although the single crystal LaB6 cathodes has longer usage life and better electric emission, the difficulty to produce and relatively small size limits its applications. Most LaB6 cathodes are still produced by hot pressing technique. With co-operation with tech ceramic laboratory in universities and research institutions, we are continuously improving our capability and the quality. In our production, the high purity LaB6 raw material is sintered by hot pressor, and the blanks are machined into the shape of electrodes. LaB6 hot pressed material can be considered as polycrystalline products, but it is still not formed through crystal growing. These kind of LaB6 materials are widely used in applications that need large quantity of electric guns with high effective-cost ratio.

Please contact us at for specific academic pricing.