Design and manufacturing processes of long-life hollow cathode assemblies

摘要

A process for testing an impregnated insert of a Hollow Cathode Assembly (HCA) subsequent to every exposure of the HCA to air, and prior to ignition, using a heater and an oil-free assembly having a base pressure of less than 5.0x10<-6 >torr. The process comprises the steps of: installing the HCA in a vacuum; energizing the heater to a particular current level; de-energizing the heater after one-half hour; again energizing the heater to a particular current level; and de-energizing the heater for at least one-half hour.