@article{SerbunBornmannNavitskietal., author = {Serbun, Pavel and Bornmann, Benjamin and Navitski, Aliaksandr and M{\"u}ller, G{\"u}nter and Prommesberger, Christian and Langer, Christoph and Dams, Florian and Schreiner, Rupert}, title = {Stable field emission of single B-doped Si tips and linear current scaling of uniform tip arrays for integrated vacuum microelectronic devices}, series = {Journal of Vacuum Science \& Technology B Nanotechnology and Microelectronics}, volume = {31}, journal = {Journal of Vacuum Science \& Technology B Nanotechnology and Microelectronics}, number = {2}, publisher = {AIP Publishing}, doi = {10.1116/1.4765088}, abstract = {Advanced Si-based semiconductor technology is most suitable to fabricate uniform nanostructures as integrated field emitter arrays for novel vacuum electronic devices. In order to improve the field emission homogeneity and stability of p-type silicon tip arrays for pulsed sensor applications, the authors have systematically studied the influence of the fabrication parameters on the tip shape and on the specific operating conditions. Based on detailed design calculations of the field enhancement, they have fabricated two series of hexagonal arrays of B-doped Si-tips in a triangular arrangement. The first (second) type contains three (four) patches with different number of tips (1, 91, 547 and 1, 19, 1027, 4447 for the first and second type, respectively) of about 1 (2.5) μm height, ∼20 (20) nm apex radius, and 20 (10) μm pitch. The field emission properties of both individual tips and complete arrays were investigated with a field emission scanning microscope at a pressure of 10-9 mbar. The current plateau of these tips typically occurs at about 10 (3) nA and around 65 (25) V/μm field level. In this carrier saturation range, single tips provide the highest current stability (<5\%) and optical current switching ratio (∼2.5). Fairly homogeneous emission of the tip arrays leads to an undershooting of the expected linear scaling of the mean plateau current as well as to a much improved current stability (<1\%).}, language = {en} } @article{DamsNavitskiPrommesbergeretal., author = {Dams, Florian and Navitski, Aliaksandr and Prommesberger, Christian and Serbun, Pavel and Langer, Christoph and M{\"u}ller, G{\"u}nter and Schreiner, Rupert}, title = {Homogeneous Field Emission Cathodes With Precisely Adjustable Geometry Fabricated by Silicon Technology}, series = {IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices}, volume = {59}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices}, number = {10}, publisher = {IEEE}, issn = {0018-9383}, doi = {10.1109/TED.2012.2206598}, pages = {2832 -- 2837}, abstract = {Silicon-based cathodes with precisely aligned field emitter arrays of sharp tips applicable for miniaturized electron sources were successfully fabricated and characterized. This was made possible by an improved fabrication process using wet thermal oxidation, wet etching, and reactive-ion etching steps with adjustable anisotropy. As substrate materials, both p-doped silicon and n-doped silicon were used. The cathode chips contain about 3 × 10 5 Si tips/cm 2 in a triangular array with tip heights of 2.5 μm, tip radii of less than 30 nm, and spacing of 20 μm. Well-aligned field emission (FE) and excellent homogeneity from all tips (i.e., 100\% efficiency) and maximum stable currents of typically 0.1 μA (0.6 μA) for p (n)-type Si were reproducibly achieved. The current-voltage characteristics of the p-Si tips exhibit the expected saturation at around 10 nA with around ten times better current stability, whereas the n-Si tips show the usual Fowler-Nordheim behavior. Additional coating of the Si tips with 5-nm Cr and 10-nm Au layers resulted in improved stability and at least five times higher average FE current limits (about 3 μA) at about 30\% higher operation voltage.}, language = {en} }