The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.

The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.

Date of Patent:
Aug. 11, 1987

Filed:

Nov. 20, 1984
Applicant:
Inventors:

Charles M McKenna, Boxford, MA (US);

Irwin R Sharapata, Canoga Park, CA (US);

William M Clark, Jr, Thousand Oaks, CA (US);

Assignee:

Hughes Aircraft Company, Los Angeles, CA (US);

Attorneys:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H01J / ; H01J / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
3133621 ; 204 371 ; 204 385 ; 204 40 ; 2504 / ; 313336 ; 4273768 ; 427405 ; 427431 ;
Abstract

A process for enhancing the wettability of evaporation elements, such as substrates and metal reservoirs used in liquid metal ion sources, and the elements so produced wherein a coating material is wettably coated onto the evaporation element at a coating temperature greater than the ion source operating temperature. The coated element is cooled to the operating temperature, and then contacted with the molten ion source alloy. The coating material is selected to wet the substrate or reservoir at the coating temperature, but to be itself wet by the ion source alloy at the ion source operating temperature. The preferred coating metal is gold, which is first applied by electrodeposition onto the evaporation element, and the evaporation element and coating are heated to a coating temperature of about 800.degree. C. to complete the coating step. The coated evaporation element is cooled to the source operating temperature of 200.degree. C.-300.degree. C. and dipped into the ion source alloy, which may be an alloy such as lead-gold-arsenic or lead-gold-antimony.


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