Curing of a tungsten filament in an ion implanter

Within an ion implanter, a source element or filament may be cured outside of the ion implanter. This may be accomplished within a vacuum chamber using the same source assembly or canister to hold the filament as is used within the ion implanter. The filament within the source canister is inserted into the vacuum chamber and a vacuum is produced at a first set point. Then, the current is gradually increased while monitoring the pressure compared to a second set point. The current is decreased where the second pressure set point is reached to prevent oxidation. Where the chamber pressure is below the second set point, the current is allowed to increase. The curing of the filament is indicated when the filament increases to the third set point, without chamber pressure exceeding the second set point.