We design and manufacture induction heating equipment for firing getters in all manner of thermionic devices. Our capability extends from hand held heat applications through to automatic inline production machines.
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Getter Firing In A Metal Halide Lamp
Getter firing in corners of rectangular vacuum display
- Overview
- Induction
- Fluorescent Tubes
- TV Picture Tubes
- Neon Tubes
- Image Intensifiers
The process of getter firing or getter "flashing" overcomes a specific hurdle which arises during the production of sealed glass tubes. How can an oxygen-free vacuum be produced to extend the life of the filament? The answer is to remove residual gases by heating a metallic disk, known as a getter, inside the bulb.
The getter is coated with Barium, which has an extremely high affinity for oxygen and nitrogen. After the bulb has been pumped down and sealed, the getter is heated to vaporize or "flash" the barium for maximum dispersion, and "get" any residual gas within the tube.
Getter firing is used in manufacturing to extend the life of laser tubes, neon tubes, fluorescent lamps, other high intensity lamps and television picture tubes.
Since the round steel disk is an ideal load for a round induction coil, modern induction heating systems quickly and easily heat getters through the glass bulb. Temperatures as high as 1100°C can be reached within 1 second to "flash" or vaporize the metal. Heating with induction is reliable, repeatable, non-contact and energy-efficient. Solid state systems, when used in conjunction with temperature sensing and control equipment, are capable of heating very small areas within precise production tolerances.
Typical RF power supplies for getter firing range from 3 to 10kW, depending on the parts and application requirements.
This photograph shows a fully automatic inline system for firing getters in shaped fluorescent tubes. We also manufacture equipment to fire getters in linear tubes. We can either supply just the induction heating system or a complete package with lamp transport conveying systems together with the necessary ancillary control and monitoring equipment.
Units can be supplied with mobile trolleys that house the necessary water cooling.
These induction heaters were supplied with hand held heat applicators for firing ring getters in TV tubes.
We've designed a hand-held heat applicator with long reach work coil for use in a neon tube manufacturing application. The emitter in the end of the neon tube is "baked" during the pumping sequence.
Our hand-held heat applicator can be used with a long power lead between the induction heater and the work piece. In this photograph, a multi turn work coil is being used in a getter firing application. The component being processed is an image intensifier.