Electrode activating compound for gas discharge tube

A material for use in forming an electrode activating compound for a gas discharge tube, said compound consisting of a metal oxide of a metal from the fourth subgroup of the periodic table, said metal oxide being a titanium oxide having a valence lower than quadrivalent titanium oxide, said material being applied on an electrode before processing of the electrode and including an oxidization compound and a constituent selected from a group consisting of titanium and titanium hydride, said constituent during processing of the electrode being partially oxidized to produce the titanium oxide with a valence lower than quadrivalent titanium oxide.

A material for use in forming an electrode activating compound for a gas discharge tube, said compound consisting of a metal oxide of a metal from the fourth subgroup of the periodic table, said metal oxide being a titanium oxide having a valence lower than quadrivalent titanium oxide, said material including a reducing agent and titanium dioxide and being applied on the electrode before processing of the electrode, said titanium dioxide during processing of the electrode being partially reduced to produce the titanium oxide with a valence lower than quadrivalent titanium oxide.

A method of providing an electrode activating compound on an electrode for a discharge tube, said method comprising providing a material including a constituent selected from a group consisting of titanium and titanium compounds, applying said material on at least one electrode of the gas discharge tube, processing the electrode to cause the material to react with other materials to produce a titanium oxide having a lower valence than the quadrivalent titanium oxide.