Ion getter pumps

Ion Getter Pumps (IGP) are used to create ultra-high-vacuum. The IGP operation is triggered by the Penning cell structure, which uses a combination of electrical and magnetic fields to confine electrons and start ionization and getter pumping processes. During the years, more IGP configurations have been developed to cope with different gases, such as reactive gases, hydrogen or noble gases. When the IGP is required to reach pressures lower than 10^(-8) mbar, it needs to be baked out with the whole vacuum system, in order to accelerate the release of the gas atoms trapped inside the pump materials, and the leakage current issue has to be taken into account for a reliable pressure reading.