Operation of activated-fullerene-coated field emitters in technical vacuum

The operation of tungsten tip field emitters coated by activated fullerenes in technical vacuum is studied. Ways of emitter training to provide the self-reproducibility of the coatings and their long service life under intense ion bombardment in wide ranges of pressures, from 2 $\times$ 10$^{-8}$ $<p<$ (5–7) $\times$ 10$^{-7}$ Torr, and emission currents, from (1.5–2.0) to (10–20) $\mu$A, are developed.