Ion pump

Claim 1

AN ION PUMP COMPRISING A CATHODE AND AN ANODE SPACED APART TO DEFINE THEREBETWEEN A GLOW-DISCHARGE ZONE IN WHICH GAS IONIZATON IS ACCOMPLISHED, ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS TO SAID CATHODE AND ANODE WHICH WHEN CONNECTED TO AN EXTERNAL ELECTRICAL POTENTIAL SOURCE WILL CAUSE AN ELECTRICAL FIELD TO BE ESTABLISHED BETWEEN THE ANODE AND CATHODE, A MAGNETIC CIRCUIT ARRANGED TO ESTABLISH A MAGNETIC FIELD TRANSVERSE TO THE SAID ELECTRICAL FIELD, THE GLOWDISCHARGE ZONE HAVING A LONG DIMENSION TRANSVERSE TO THE MAGNETIC FIELD WICH IS AT LEAST SEVERAL TIMES GREATER THAN THAT DIMENSION OF THE ZONE WHICH IS PARALLEL TO THE MAGNETIC FILED, A SORPTION ZONE IN WIXH IONS AND MOLECULES ARE SORBED, THE CATHODE EXTENDING ALONG SAID LONG DIMENSION, THE CATHODE SERVING TO SEPARATE THE GLOW-DISCHARGE AND SORPTION ZONES, THE CATHODE BEING POSITIONED TO PERMIT READY ESCAPE OF POSITIVE IONS FROM THE GLOW-DISCHARGE ZONE INTO THE SORPTION ZONE, A SOURCE OF SORPTION METAL POSITIONED WITHIN SAID SORPTION ZONE, SAID SOURCE BEING A SPUTTER CATHODE POSITIONED IN SAID SORPTION ZONE SUCH THAT POSITIVE IONS FROM THE GLOW-DISCHARGE ZONE CAN STRIKE ITS SURFACE AND DISINTEGRATE METAL THEREFROM MEANS DEFINING A SUBSTANTIAL SORPTION AREA IN THE SORPTION ZONE ON WHICH SORPTION METAL IS DEPOSITED, THE SORPTION AREA BEING OUTSIDE OF THE GLOW-DISCHARGE ZONE, AND BEING SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THE AREA OF CATHODE SEPARATING THE GLOW-DISCHARGE ZONE FROM THE SORPTION ZONE, AND MEANS TO CONNECT SAID SORPTION ZONE TO A STURCTURE TO BE EVACUATED.