The UHV behaviour of stainless steel vacuum chambers, coated ex situ by sputtering with a thin film of a getter material, has been investigated. The purpose of this study was to ascertain if the getter film could be activated after air exposure by in situ baking, so as to transform the vacuum chamber from a gas source into a pump. Many elements and alloys have been tested, all of which could be activated by baking at temperatures acceptable for stainless steel components, i.e. lower than 400℃. In one case (equiatomic TiZr alloy) an activation temperature of 200-250℃has been measured. This investigation has been carried out using Electron Stimulated Desorption, pumping speed and ultimate pressure measurements. # 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
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