Emission and surface characteristic of ternary alloy Ir/Re/W coated impregnated tungsten cathodes

In order to improve the activation characteristics & emission ability of the conventional Ir-Coated impregnated tungsten cathodes, a new type of dispenser cathode with ternary alloy Ir/Re/W coating was developed. The improved cathodes show higher emission current density and faster activation characteristics than that of the conventional pure Ir-coated impregnated tungsten cathodes. XPS was used to analyze the element compositions on the surface of the cathodes coated with pure Ir and Ir/Re/W alloy. The results will be given in this paper.