TY - JOUR A1 - Schels, Andreas A1 - Edler, Simon A1 - Herdl, Florian A1 - Hansch, Walter A1 - Bachmann, Michael A1 - Ritter, Daniela A1 - Dudeck, Markus A1 - Duesberg, Felix A1 - Meyer, Manuel A1 - Pahlke, Andreas A1 - Hausladen, Matthias A1 - Buchner, Philipp A1 - Schreiner, Rupert T1 - In situ quantitative field emission imaging using a low-cost CMOS imaging sensor JF - Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B N2 - Spatially resolved field emission measurements represent an important factor in further development of existing field emitter concepts. In this work, we present a novel approach that allows quantitative analysis of individual emission spots from integral current-voltage measurements using a low-cost and commercially available CMOS camera. By combining different exposure times to extrapolate oversaturated and underexposed pixels, a near congruence of integral current and image brightness is shown. The extrapolation also allows parallel investigation of all individual tips participating in the total current with currents ranging from a few nanoampere to one microampere per tip. The sensitivity, which is determined by the integral brightness-to-current ratio, remains unchanged within the measurement accuracy even after ten full measurement cycles. Using a point detection algorithm, the proportional current load of each individual tip of the field emitter array is analyzed and compared at different times during the initial measurement cycle. Together with the extracted I-V curves of single emission spots from the integral measurement, the results indicate the effect of premature burnout of particularly sharp tips during conditioning of the emitter. KW - ARRAYS KW - ELECTRON-EMISSION KW - EMITTERS KW - FakANK Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0001551 VL - 40 IS - 1 PB - AIP Publishing ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Buchner, Philipp A1 - Kaiser, Alexander A1 - Hausladen, Matthias A1 - Bartl, Mathias A1 - Bachmann, Michael A1 - Schreiner, Rupert T1 - Silicon Nanowire Field Emitters with Integrated Extraction Gates Using Benzocyclobutene as an Insulator T2 - 37th International Vacuum Nanoelectronics Conference (IVNC), 15-19 July 2024, Brno, Czech Republic N2 - We are continuously improving the performance of our field emission electron sources. In this work a geometrically optimized design of electron sources with silicon nanowire field emitters on pillars was fabricated. This new design increased the packing density of the emitters by using a hexagonal arrangement of the pillars and a pillar spacing of 40 µm. Benzocyclobutene was used as the insulator material for an integrated (Cr/Ni) extraction gate. A modified fabrication process for the field emitters further improved reproducibility and reliability. An emission current of about 0.4 mA was measured for 30 minutes at an extraction voltage of 250 V and an anode voltage of 500 V. Electron transmission through the gate reached almost 100%. Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/IVNC63480.2024.10652314 SP - 1 EP - 2 PB - IEEE ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Hausladen, Matthias A1 - Bomke, Vitali A1 - Buchner, Philipp A1 - Bachmann, Michael A1 - Knapek, Alexandr A1 - Schreiner, Rupert T1 - Influence of Geometrical Arrangements of Si Tip Arrays Fabricated by Laser Micromachining on their Emission Behaviour T2 - 2021 34th International Vacuum Nanoelectronics Conference (IVNC): 7/5/2021 - 7/9/2021, Lyon, France N2 - ensely packed emitters on a field emission array lead typically to mutual shielding. Taking biology as a role model for geometric arrangements could be a way to reduce this effect. For comparison, two electron sources, one with a spiral and a second with conventional rectangular (orthogonal) arranged emitters, were fabricated and investigated. Emission currents of 6 µA in the spiral ordered array and 120 µA in the rectangular array were reached with an extraction voltage of 400 V. From a mid-term measurement over 1 h a current stability of ±8.8 % (spiral) respectively ±5.7 % (rectangular) with a mean degradation of -3.0 µA/h (spiral) and -0.12 µA/h (rectangular) could be observed. KW - aperture field KW - emission grid KW - Fabrication KW - laser micromachining KW - parastichy tip arrangements KW - silicon field emission KW - Stability analysis KW - Spirals KW - Field emitter array KW - Voltage measurement Y1 - 2021 SN - 978-1-6654-2589-6 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/IVNC52431.2021.9600717 SN - 2380-6311 PB - IEEE CY - Piscataway, N.J. ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Buchner, Philipp A1 - Bomke, Vitali A1 - Hausladen, Matthias A1 - Edler, Simon A1 - Bachmann, Michael A1 - Schreiner, Rupert T1 - Investigation on the Emission Behaviour of p-doped Silicon Field Emission Arrays with Individually Controllable Single Tips T2 - 2021 34th International Vacuum Nanoelectronics Conference (IVNC): 7/5/2021 - 7/9/2021, Lyon, France N2 - Four individually controllable emission tips consisting of <111> p-Type silicon, were structured on a glass substrate by laser ablation. A matching extraction grid was manufactured in the same manner and aligned with the emitters. The resulting samples were characterized in ultra-high vacuum. As expected, the individual currents show a strong saturation and in the saturation region a considerably lower current fluctuation than n-type silicon due to charge carrier depletion. The individual tips behave completely independent behaviour from each other and the overall emission can be deduced from the sum of the currents through the individual tips. Y1 - 2021 SN - 978-1-6654-2589-6 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/IVNC52431.2021.9600756 SP - 1 EP - 2 PB - IEEE ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Bartl, Mathias A1 - Buchner, Philipp A1 - Hausladen, Matthias A1 - Asgharzadehkhorasani, Ali A1 - Bachmann, Michael A1 - Schreiner, Rupert T1 - Simulations and Investigations of Silicon Nanowire Field Emitters T2 - 37th International Vacuum Nanoelectronics Conference (IVNC), 15-19 July 2024, Brno, Czech Republic N2 - The emission behavior of field emission electron sources consisting of a silicon nanowire cathode, an extraction grid electrode and a planar anode was investigated based on a particle tracing simulation using FEM. The focus was on the influence of the grid geometry as well as the positioning of the grid relative to the emitters on the electron transmission. The highest transmission can be achieved with the emitter tips protruding 10 µm trough the extraction grid openings. The transmission decreases more rapidly with increasing distance between the tip and the grid the thicker the grid is. Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/IVNC63480.2024.10652355 SP - 1 EP - 2 PB - IEEE ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hausladen, Matthias A1 - Buchner, Philipp A1 - Bartl, Mathias A1 - Bachmann, Michael A1 - Schreiner, Rupert T1 - Integrated multichip field emission electron source fabricated by laser-micromachining and MEMS technology JF - Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B N2 - In this work, high-current field emission electron source chips were fabricated using laser-micromachining and MEMS technology. The resulting chips were combined with commercially available printed circuit boards (PCBs) to obtain a multichip electron source. By controlling the separate electron sources using an external current control circuit, we were able to divide the desired total current evenly across the individual chips deployed in the PCB-carrier. In consequence, we were able to show a decreased degradation due to the reduced current load per chip. First, a single electron source chip was measured without current regulation. A steady-state emission current of 1 mA with a high stability of ±1.3% at an extraction voltage of 250 V was observed. At this current level, a mean degradation slope of −0.7 μA/min with a nearly perfect transmission ratio of 99% ± 0.4% was determined. The measurements of a fully assembled multichip PCB-carrier electron source, using a current control circuit for regulation, showed that an even distribution of the desired total current led to a decreased degradation. This was determined by the increase in the required extraction voltage over time. For this purpose, two current levels were applied to the electron source chips of the PCB-carrier using an external current control circuit. First, 300 μA total current was evenly distributed among the individual electron source chips followed by the emission of 300 μA per electron source chip. This allows the observation of the influence of a distributed and nondistributed total current, carried by the electron source chips. Thereby, we obtained an increase in the mean degradation slope from +0.011 V/min (300 μA distributed) to +0.239 V/min (300 μA per chip), which is approximately 21 times higher. Moreover, our current control circuit improved the current stability to under 0.1% for both current levels, 300 μA distributed and 300 μA per chip. KW - MEMS technology KW - Field emitter arrays KW - Electron sources KW - Laser micromachining Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0003233 VL - 42 IS - 1 PB - AIP Publishing ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Schels, Andreas A1 - Herdl, Florian A1 - Hausladen, Matthias A1 - Wohlfartsstätter, Dominik A1 - Bachmann, Michael A1 - Edler, Simon A1 - Düsberg, Felix A1 - Pahlke, Andreas A1 - Buchner, Philipp A1 - Schreiner, Rupert A1 - Hansch, Walter T1 - Beta Factor Mapping of Individual Emitting Tips During Integral Operation of Field Emission Arrays T2 - 2023 IEEE 36th International Vacuum Nanoelectronics Conference (IVNC), 10-13 July 2023, Cambridge, MA, USA N2 - Emission uniformity mappings of field emitter arrays provide important insight into degradation mechanisms, but are often laborious, non-integral, costly, or not quantifiable. Here, a low-cost Raspberry Pi HQ camera is used as an extraction anode to quantify the emission distribution in field emitter arrays. A verification measurement using controlled SEM electron beams proves, that current-voltage characteristics of individual emission sites can be determined by combining the integral electrical data with the image data. The characteristics are used to quantify the field enhancement factors of an 30x30 silicon field emitter array during integral operation. Comparison of the field enhancement factor distributions before and after a one-hour constant current operation at 1 µA shows an increase from 50 actively emitting tips before to 156 after the measurement. It is shown, that the distribution of field enhancement factors shifts towards lower values, due to the increasing degradation for high field enhancement tips, especially above 1500. KW - field emission KW - field emission imaging KW - field emission distribution KW - field enhancement factor KW - CMOS imaging KW - beta factor Y1 - 2023 SN - 979-8-3503-0143-4 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/IVNC57695.2023.10188957 SP - 224 EP - 226 PB - IEEE ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Hausladen, Matthias A1 - Buchner, Philipp A1 - Schels, Andreas A1 - Edler, Simon A1 - Bachmann, Michael A1 - Schreiner, Rupert T1 - An Integrated Field Emission Electron Source on a Chip Fabricated by Laser-Micromachining and Mems Technology T2 - 2023 IEEE 36th International Vacuum Nanoelectronics Conference (IVNC), 10-13 July 2023, Cambridge, MA, USA N2 - A silicon field emission electron source consisting of a cathode and a grid electrode has been fabricated by laser micromachining. The cathode features 21×21 tips on an area of 4×4 mm 2 , With a self-aligning MEMS technology for the aperture grid, a high electron transmission (99 %) was achieved. Onset voltages of 50…70 V were observed for an emission current of 1 nA. A stable emission current of 1 mA ± 1.3 % at an extraction voltage of 250 V was observed during a 30-min operation. KW - Apertures KW - Field Emission KW - Field Emission Array KW - Ions KW - Laser-Micromachining KW - Lasers KW - Micromechanical devices KW - Silicon KW - Silicon Field Emission Array KW - Steady-state KW - Vacuum systems Y1 - 2023 SN - 979-8-3503-0143-4 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/IVNC57695.2023.10189001 SP - 115 EP - 116 PB - IEEE ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Buchner, Philipp A1 - Hausladen, Matthias A1 - Schels, Andreas A1 - Herdl, Florian A1 - Edler, Simon A1 - Bachmann, Michael A1 - Schreiner, Rupert T1 - An Integrated Silicon Nanowire Field Emission Electron Source on a Chip with High Electron Transmission T2 - 2023 IEEE 36th International Vacuum Nanoelectronics Conference (IVNC), 10-13 July 2023, Cambridge, MA, USA N2 - Silicon nanowire field emission arrays (50 × 50 pillars) were fabricated on a silicon glass hybrid wafer. The glass acts both as the support for the whole structure and insulator between cathode and extraction grid. The extraction grid matches the emitter structures and is optically aligned and adhered to the emitter chip by a vacuum compatible epoxide adhesive. These chips exhibit an emission current of about 600 μA at an extraction voltage of 300 V. The electron transmission through the grid is above 80 %. 58-hour longtime measurements were conducted showing low degradation of the emission current and high stability of electron transmission. KW - Semiconductor device measurement KW - Stimulated emission KW - Optical device fabrication KW - Glass KW - Power system stability KW - Insulators KW - Electron optics Y1 - 2023 SN - 979-8-3503-0143-4 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/IVNC57695.2023.10188878 SP - 6 EP - 8 PB - IEEE ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Hausladen, Matthias A1 - Schels, Andreas A1 - Buchner, Philipp A1 - Bartl, Mathias A1 - Asgharzade, Ali A1 - Edler, Simon A1 - Wohlfartsstätter, Dominik A1 - Bachmann, Michael A1 - Schreiner, Rupert T1 - Improved Method for Determining the Distribution of FEA Currents by Optical CMOS Sensors T2 - 37th International Vacuum Nanoelectronics Conference (IVNC), 15-19 July 2024, Brno, Czech Republic N2 - CMOS image sensors are utilized to determine the time- and spatially-resolved distribution of the electron emission of silicon field emission arrays. During initial experiments, rather low field emission currents already visibly damaged the sensor surface, altering the system accuracy over the measurement time. Therefore, we coated the sensor surface with copper for protection. In contrast to the original insulating surface, the Cu coating provides a conductive surface for incident electrons and improves heat dissipation in addition. This prevents localized surface charges and surface damages which stabilize the system accuracy. Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/IVNC63480.2024.10652543 SP - 1 EP - 2 PB - IEEE ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bachmann, Michael A1 - Düsberg, Felix A1 - Pahlke, Andreas A1 - Edler, Simon A1 - Schels, Andreas A1 - Herdl, Florian A1 - Hausladen, Matthias A1 - Buchner, Philipp A1 - Schreiner, Rupert T1 - The “LED‐version” of the electron gun: An electron source for operation in ambient pressure environments based on silicon field emitter arrays JF - Vakuum in Forschung und Praxis N2 - We report on our progress to develop and optimize electron sources for practical applications. A simple fabrication process is introduced based on a wafer dicing saw and a wet chemical etch step without the need for a clean room. Due to the formation of crystal facets the samples show a homogeneous geometry throughout the array. Characterization techniques are developed to systematically compare various arrays. A very defined measurement procedure based on current controlled IV-sweeps as well as lifetime measurements at various currents is proposed. To investigate the current distribution in the array a commercial CMOS detector is used and shows the potential for in depth analysis of the arrays. Finally, a compact hermetically sealed housing is presented enabling electron generation in atmospheric pressure environments. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/vipr.202300801 VL - 35 IS - 3 SP - 32 EP - 37 PB - Wiley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hausladen, Matthias A1 - Schels, Andreas A1 - Buchner, Philipp A1 - Bartl, Mathias A1 - Asgharzade, Ali A1 - Edler, Simon A1 - Wohlfartsstätter, Dominik A1 - Bachmann, Michael A1 - Schreiner, Rupert T1 - Measurement of field emission array current distributions by metal-coated CMOS image sensors JF - Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B N2 - A CMOS image sensor is utilized to determine the time- and spatially resolved distribution of the total electron emission current of a silicon field emission array. The sensor measures electron emission without the need for phosphorus screens or scintillators as converters. However, in initial experiments, rather low field emission currents of several hundreds of nanoamperes per emitter already damaged the sensor surface, which altered the systems’ signal response over the measurement time. In consequence, we coated the CMOS sensor surface with a Cu layer for surface protection. In contrast to the original insulating surface, Cu is an excellent current- and heat-conductor, which avoids lens charging by providing a conductive path for incident electrons and has an improved heat dissipation capability. Measurements using a segmented field emission cathode with four individually addressable tips demonstrate a consistent correlation between the emission current and the sensor signal of the metal-coated image sensor. Furthermore, the characterization of a field emission array showed that single tip emission currents of up to 12 μA per tip are measurable without discernible damage effects of the sensor’s surface. KW - Bremsstrahlung KW - Laser micromachining KW - Image sensors KW - Field emitter arrays Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0004074 VL - 42 IS - 6 PB - AIP Publishing ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hausladen, Matthias A1 - Schels, Andreas A1 - Asgharzade, Ali A1 - Buchner, Philipp A1 - Bartl, Mathias A1 - Wohlfartsstätter, Dominik A1 - Edler, Simon A1 - Bachmann, Michael A1 - Schreiner, Rupert T1 - Investigation of Influencing Factors on the Measurement Signal of a CMOS Image Sensor for Measuring Field Emission Currents JF - Sensors Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/s25051529 N1 - Corresponding author der OTH Regensburg: Matthias Hausladen VL - 25 IS - 5 PB - MDPI ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Bartl, Mathias A1 - Hausladen, Matthias A1 - Asgharzade, Ali A1 - Buchner, Philipp A1 - Krysztof, Michal A1 - Knápek, Alexandr A1 - Bachmann, Michael A1 - Schreiner, Rupert T1 - Experimental method for investigation of the emission pattern characteristics of individual field emission tips using a CMOS image sensor T2 - 38th International Vacuum Nanoelectronics Conference (IVNC) N2 - The emission pattern characteristics of individual silicon field emission tips were investigated using a CMOS image sensor. The quality of the image was improved by spatial and temporal averaging, so that individual emission centers could be identified and their temporal changes investigated. By mapping the emission current onto the image, the distribution of the current density on the image sensor could be calculated. KW - CMOS image sensors KW - Silicon KW - Current density KW - Nanoelectronics Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/IVNC65669.2025.11121040 PB - IEEE ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Asgharzade, Ali A1 - Bartl, Mathias A1 - Hausladen, Matthias A1 - Chen, Yang A1 - Buchner, Philipp A1 - Edler, Simon A1 - Bachmann, Michael A1 - She, Juncong A1 - Schreiner, Rupert T1 - Investigation on the influence of internal voltage drops on the emission behavior of silicon field emission arrays using CMOS image sensor T2 - 38th International Vacuum Nanoelectronics Conference (IVNC) N2 - In this paper we report on an improved measurement and analysis method for determining the emission current distribution of field emitter arrays with CMOS sensors. It can also be used for field emission arrays where not all surfaces of the emitters are at the same electrical potential (e.g. for p-doped Si tips, where a strong current saturation occurs). To demonstrate the functionality of this method, a n-doped field emission array was measured using a variable external series resistance. Brightness variations in emission spots were analyzed to re-calculate the known series resistances for comparison. The re-calculated value is in good agreement with the actual value of the resistance. This method offers a quantitative approach to assess internal voltage drop effects on field emission using optical readout KW - field emission imaging KW - field emission KW - CMOS sensor Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/IVNC65669.2025.11120937 PB - IEEE ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Buchner, Philipp A1 - Hausladen, Matthias A1 - Bartl, Mathias A1 - Bachmann, Michael A1 - Schreiner, Rupert T1 - High current field emission from Si nanowires on pillar structures JF - Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B: Nanotechnology and Microelectronics N2 - We investigate the influence of the geometry and doping level on the performance of n-type silicon nanowire field emitters on silicon pillar structures. Therefore, multiple cathodes with 50 by 50 pillar arrays (diameter: 5 μm, height: 30 μm, spacing: 50 μm) were fabricated and measured in diode configuration. In the first experiment, we compared two geometry types using the same material. Geometry 1 is black silicon, which is a highly dense surface covering a forest of tightly spaced silicon needles resulting from self-masking during a plasma etching process of single crystal silicon. Geometry 2 are silicon nanowires, which are individual spaced-out nanowires in a crownlike shape resulting from a plasma etching process of single crystal silicon. In the second experiment, we compared two different silicon doping levels [n-type (P), 1–10 and <0.005 Ω cm] for the same geometry. The best performance was achieved with lower doped silicon nanowire samples, emitting 2 mA at an extraction voltage of 1 kV. The geometry/material combination with the best performance was used to assemble an integrated electron source. These electron sources were measured in a triode configuration and reached onset voltages of about 125 V and emission currents of 2.5 mA at extraction voltages of 400 V, while achieving electron transmission rates as high as 85.0%. KW - Doping KW - Electron sources KW - Nanowires KW - Plasma processing KW - Field emitter arrays KW - Triodes KW - Semiconductors Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0003384 SN - 2166-2754 VL - 42 IS - 2 PB - AIP ER -