Definition of Gettering

To prevent any remaining gases from remaining in a free state in a vacuum tube, modern tubes are constructed with "getters", which are usually small, circular troughs filled with metals that oxidize quickly, barium being the most common. Once the tube envelope is evacuated and sealed, the getter is heated to a high temperature (usually by means of RF induction heating) causing the material to evaporate, absorbing/reacting with any residual gases and usually leaving a silver-colored metallic deposit on the inside of the envelope of the tube. If a tube develops a crack in the envelope, this deposit turns a white color when it reacts with atmospheric oxygen. Large transmitting and specialized tubes often use more exotic getters.