Patent ID: 7030620

Claim:
An ionisation vacuum gauge for measuring a residual pressure of a gaseous material in a container ( 10 ) comprising: an electron-emitting cathode ( 17 ), a grid ( 13 ; 113 ; 113 ′) for accelerating electrons emitted by said cathode, wherein said accelerating grid ( 113 ; 113 ′) has a substantially parallelepiped shape and comprises a face ( 113 a ) substantially parallel with and opposite to said cathode ( 17 ), whereby said accelerating electrons emitted by said cathode are directed along a direction F substantially normal to said face ( 113 a ), a plate ( 15 ) collecting ions and/or ionised positive molecules of the gaseous material, said plate ( 15 ) being placed outside said grid ( 13 ; 113 ; 113 ′), and a galvanometer ( 33 ) for measuring a plate current, and deriving therefrom a value of the residual pressure inside the container.