<p>Axcelis high energy implanters such as the Purion VXE and XEmax use LINAC technology to accelerate ions to very high energies, as much as 15&#xa0;MeV for arsenic ions. To achieve efficient acceleration and small tool footprint, multiply charged ions, such as As⁺⁺⁺ or As⁺⁺⁺⁺, are extracted from the ion source. However, this requires high arc voltages and power leading to short source life due to sputtering. We mitigated this source life issue in two ways. Firstly, we developed a stepped cathode, which increased source life three- to fivefold compared to a standard cathode. Secondly, we implemented a dual cathode configuration, which further increased source life by about a factor of four. A simple model is presented which explains the underlying mechanism for the surprising and unexpected source life improvements of this dual cathode configuration.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>