Dispenser cathode, particularly a metal capillary cathode

Claim 1

A dispenser cathode, particularly a metal capillary cathode, for electric discharge vessels with an emission substance carrier disk (2) that is porous on the front face to provide an outer, active surface (3), and that comprises a metal, such as tungsten, melting at a high temperature, the emission substance carrier disk (2) having a nonporous outer casing surface (1) with an electron work function that is higher than that of the outer, active surface (3) of the emission substance carrier disk (2), said outer casing surface (1) being in the form of a thin-walled cylinder which has a wall thickness in the range from about five to ten microns, said outer casing surface (1) of the emission substance carrier disk (2) having an electron work function of greater than four electron volts, the outer, active surface (3) of the emission substance carrier disk (2) having an electron work function of approximately two electron volts, and said emission substance carrier disk (2) being laterally enclosed by said nonporous outer casing surface of thickness not greater than ten microns such that practically no electrons are emitted from the cathode laterally of the carrier disk (2) at an optimum operating temperature for the dispenser cathode.