@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} } @inproceedings{NavitskiSerbunMuelleretal., author = {Navitski, Aliaksandr and Serbun, Pavel and M{\"u}ller, G{\"u}ntner and Schreiner, Rupert and Dams, Florian}, title = {Efficient and reliable field emission from silicon tip arrays for miniaturized electron sources}, series = {2011 24th International Vacuum Nanoelectronics Conference ; 18-22 July 2011 Wuppertal}, booktitle = {2011 24th International Vacuum Nanoelectronics Conference ; 18-22 July 2011 Wuppertal}, publisher = {IEEE}, address = {Piscataway, NJ}, isbn = {978-3-00-035081-8}, issn = {2380-6311}, pages = {71 -- 72}, abstract = {Silicon-based cathodes with precisely aligned field emitter arrays (FEA) applicable for miniaturized electron sources were successfully developed and fabricated. The cathode chips contain about 3×105 Si tips/cm2 in a triangular array with a tip height of 2.5 μm, tip radius of 20 nm, and lateral distance between tips of 20 μm. Amazingly homogeneous and well-aligned field emission (FE) from all tips (i.e. 100\% efficiency) and maximum stable currents of typically 0.1 μA for p- and 0.6 μA for n-type Si were reproducibly achieved. Current-voltage characteristics of p-type Si tips exhibit the expected saturation at around 10 nA due to limited supply of electrons from a depletion layer, while the n-type Si tips show the usual FN behaviour. Additional coating of the Si tips with a 10 nm Au layer resulted in at least 5 times higher average FE current levels i.e. typically 3 μA but lead, however, to a 30\% increase of the onset voltage.}, language = {en} }