A two step deoxidation of niobium was proposed as an alternative for titanium
external gettering. The proposal was experimentally confirmed. Titanium vapor
from the melt was deposited in vacuum on the free surface of niobium samples,
and subsequently the deposited samples were annealed to diffuse oxygen from the
Nb bulk to the Ti coating layer. Due to the radiation heat during electron beam
vacuum melting of Ti, the deoxidation by the Ti deposit occurred partially.
Electric resistivity measurements showed a hundreds times faster deoxidation in
the subsequent annealing than during external gettering. This fast deoxidation
could prevent the Ti penetration into Nb. RRR measurements suggested that the
annealing could be conducted at lower temperatures than for external gettering.