ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,387,902, issued on Aug. 12, was assigned to FEI Co. (Hillsboro, Ore.).
"Electrode and filament coupled by adapter" was invented by Kun Liu (Portland, Ore.) and Joshua Mutch (Salem, Ore.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Apparatus and methods are disclosed for a mechanically stable, long-life, cold field emitter assembly which is compatible with ultra-high vacuum and occasional high-temperature flashing. A metal adapter is welded between a hexaboride electrode and a metal filament. Some embodiments use a tungsten filament, a tantalum adapter, and a LaB6 microrod electrode with a nanorod emitter tip. Other material combinations are disclosed,...