Abstract:
A mass spectrometer is connected to a vacuum system which includes a vacuum-pumping system and which is communicated with the vessel under test exposed to a suitable probe gas. The vacuum-pumping system consists of a first stage in the form of a mechanical roughing pump for reducing the system pressure to roughing pressure, and a second stage in the form of a highvacuum pump which comprises an electronic getter-ion (sublimation) pump for pumping the chemically active nonnoble gases in combination with a Penning discharge chamber which houses discharge cathodes exposed to the deposit of the getter material from the getter-ion pump for pumping the noble gas.