An
electron-emitting
cathode consists of an electrically conducting emitter layer attached to a side wall which consists of stainless steel and a gate which is fixed at a mall distance inside a concave emitter surface of the emitter layer. The
cathode surrounds a reaction area containing a cylindrical grid-like
anode and a central
ion collector which consists of a straight axial filament. An
ion collector current reflecting the density of the gas in the reaction region is measured by a
current meter while a
gate voltage is kept between the ground
voltage of the emitter layer and a higher
anode voltage and is regulated in such a way that an
anode current is kept constant. The emitter layer may consists of carbon nanotubes,
diamond-like carbon, a
metal or a mixture of metals or a
semiconductor material, e.g.,
silicon which may be coated, e.g., with
carbide or
molybdenum. The emitter surface can, however, also be a portion of the inside surface of the side wall roughened by, e.g., chemical
etching. The gate may be a grid or it may be made up of patches of
metal film covering spacers distributed over the emitter area or a
metal film covering an
electron permeable layer placed on the emitter surface.