Miniaturized source of ionizing electromagnetic radiation

Abstract

The invention is directed to a miniaturized source (10; 20; 40; 80) of ionizing electromagnetic radiation, comprising a first electrode (11; 21; 41, 42; 81), which at least temporarily can function as a cathode, and a second electrode (12; 22; 43, 44, 45; 82), which at least temporarily can function as an anode, a first conductor (13; 23; 46, 47; 83) connected to the first electrode, and a second conductor (14; 24; 48, 49, 50; 84) connected to the second electrode. According to one embodiment, the first electrode and at least a portion of the first conductor are provided on a substrate (15; 10 25; 51; 85). According to another embodiment, also the second electrode and at least a portion of the second conductor are provided on the substrate. In all embodiments, the electrodes are arranged such that the electric field between the electrodes essentially is parallel to the surface of the substrate.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.