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Spitzen- und Kantenemitter aus Silizium mit einem hohen Aspektverhältnis für Ionisationsgassensoren
(2014)
Durch die Optimierung von reaktivem Ionenätzen mit induktiv gekoppeltem Plasma ist die Herstellung von verschiedenen Siliziumkathoden mit hoher Anisotropie und hohem Aspektverhältnis für Feldemissionsanwendungen möglich. Simulationen mit COMSOL Multiphysics untermauern das Potential von solchen Spitzen- und Kantenfeldemittern. Die Ergebnisse der Simulation zeigen einen zwei- bis sechsfach höheren Feldüberhöhungsfaktor der tiefgeätzten Strukturen im Vergleich zu identischen Emittern ohne zusätzliche Tiefenätzung. Feldemissionsmessungen bestätigen die Simulationsergebnisse. Der modifizierte Herstellungsprozess der Feldemitter ermöglicht somit einen zuverlässigen Betrieb von Feldemissionselektronenquellen bei kleineren makroskopischen Feldstärken. Außerdem weisen die Messungen des Emissionsstroms im Sättigungsbereich eine weitgehende Unabhängigkeit vom elektrischen Feld auf. Lokale Feldemissionsmessungen ergeben dadurch eine deutliche Stromstabilisierung, welche über große Feldstärkenbereiche konstant bleibt. Die Nutzung der HAR-Emitter (high aspect ratio) ist damit eine gute Voraussetzung für einen zuverlässigen Betrieb der Emissionskathoden bei kleinen Feldstärken für die Anwendung in Ionisationsgassensoren.
Semiconductor field emitters are suitable candidates for applications, which require a very stable field emission (FE) current and a high emission uniformity over the entire emission area. By using different materials and geometries, we are able to vary the FE characteristics within a wide range. Each specific application requires its own optimized design for the cathode as well as for the other parts of the FE electron source. To meet as many of these requirements as possible while using only a limited number of different prefabricated components, we established a modular system concept for our FE electron source. This allows the implementation of almost every cathode material. For first characterizations, we used gated p-type Si cathodes with 16 tips. We obtained stable FE currents of 0.4 μA for a grid-potential of 400 V and a gate potential of 100 V. Almost 100% of the electrons are emitted towards the grid-electrode. Parasitic leakage paths, as well as the electron emission towards the gate-electrode can be neglected. Approximately 10% of the electrons are transmitted through the grid and reach the external anode. This is in good agreement with the optical transmission through the grid-mesh.
Electron sources based on silicon field emitter arrays, produced in processes based on semiconductor technology, are good candidates for a miniaturized X-ray source. A key parameter for this application is the stability of the X-ray photon flux and, thus, the emission current. In the present work we have investigated the influence of the residual gas pressure and a resistor in series on the emission stability of a high aspect ratio n-type silicon emitter array with hybrid extraction electrode. An increase of current fluctuations was found for pressures above 10-6 mbar. High resistances in series to the emitter array alter the emission characteristics, but greatly suppress spikes in the emission current and improve its stability. This, however, strongly depends on the bias point. The field enhancement factor is not affected by the resistance. In a long term measurement the emission current was found to be constant after an initial phase of degradation.
Feldemissionselektronenquellen sind aufgrund ihrer prinzipiellen Vorteile gegenüber Glühkathoden bereits seit längerer Zeit Gegenstand der Forschung und werden bisher nur in einigen Spezialanwendungen erfolgreich eingesetzt. Hierbei werden Einzelspitzen mit Spannungen im kV-Bereich und Strömen im nA-Bereich betrieben. Dagegen werden für miniaturisierte Sensorsysteme eher Spannungen von ca. 100 V und Ströme von ca. 1 mA benötigt. Dazu wurden bisher meist Feldemissionskathoden mit CNTs vorgeschlagen, welche für Anwendungen in der Halbleiterindustrie aufgrund des Kohlenstoffanteils nicht erwünscht sind. Ziel unserer Arbeit ist es, Si-basierte Elektronenquellen zu realisieren, die mit anderen miniaturisierten Vakuumsensoren auf einem Chip integrierbar sind. Mithilfe eines optimierten Herstellungsprozesses konnten wir p-Si-Spitzenarrays mit Spitzenradien von wenigen nm realisieren [1]. Messungen an diesen Strukturen zeigen ein sehr homogenes Emissionsverhalten, das vor allem im Sättigungsbereich bei Emissionsströmen von ca. 10 nA pro Spitze zeitlich stabil (Schwankungen < 5 %) und optisch schaltbar (Faktor > 2.5) ist [2].
We report on gated p-type Si-tip array cathodes for implementation into field emission electron sources for sensor applications. Arrays of 16 and 100 tips with tip heights of 3 μm and tip radii below 30 nm with integrated gate electrodes concentrically positioned 2 μm below the tip apexes were fabricated using an improved process, which leads to an enhanced isolation layer quality with sufficient breakdown field strengths and low leakage currents. Integral measurements with a fixed grid potential of 400 V showed emission currents up to 35 μA for 100 tips at a cathode voltage of 150 V and an almost negligible parasitic gate current. The array with 16 p-type Si-tips showed a significant stabilization of the emission current in the range of 0.3 - 0.4 μA, for cathode voltages between 90 V and 150 V. The current fluctuation in this saturation regime was measured for 10 minutes and a value of less than ± 1% was observed. No degradation of the cathode was found after 6 hours of operation at a constant cathode voltage of 100 V and a constant grid voltage of 400 V.
We report on the transition from field electron emission to plasma discharges. During an experiment with a miniaturized field emission electron source a plasma discharge accompanied by a luminous effect was observed. A novel graphical evaluation method was used to interpret and to compare the observed phenomenon.
The finite element simulation program COMSOL Multiphysics® was used to simulate the emission efficiency of a silicon tip electron source in triode configuration for different geometries and electrode potentials. The simulation predicts a maximum emission efficiency of 84% for an optimized structure. In a second simulation a gate electrode was concentrically arranged above a single CNT column. Here, the efficiency was simulated as a function of gate hole geometry, electrode potentials and distances between the electrodes. The simulation shows that a conical shape of the gate hole results in an efficiency up to nearly 100%.
Arrays of black silicon field emission pillar structures were fabricated on p-type silicon substrates. Two types of samples with the same number of pillars (arrays of 10 × 10) but different pillar heights (8 and 20 μm) were prepared as well as a black silicon reference sample without pillars. The field emission properties of these cathodes were investigated both by means of integral current-voltage measurements and by field emission scanning microscopy. Samples with a pillar height of 20 μm revealed onset fields as low as 6.4 V/μm, field enhancement factors up to 800, and emission currents up to 8 μA at an applied field of 20 V/μm. Due to the p-type material, a saturation of the emission current for fields above 11 V/μm was observed. This saturation leads to a stable operation with a current fluctuation of less than ±8%. It was found that samples with a pillar height of 20 μm showed improved emission characteristics compared to samples with a pillar height of 8 μm or without pillars. The voltage maps revealed an increased emission homogeneity after a “burn-in” sequence of the sample. The current map showed that a few of the pillars dominate the emission. Integral current stability measurements were performed under different vacuum pressures, in order to investigate altered emission behavior and a potential degradation of the emitters. At pressures above 10−6 mbar, the sample starts to degrade irreversibly. Nevertheless, even after a harsh treatment over 30 min at 5 × 10−5 mbar and at an applied field of 23 V/μm, the cathode was still operating, and did not fail during further operation over 20 h at 5 × 10−8 mbar and at an applied field of 28 V/μm.
We report on miniaturized silicon field emitter arrays for the application in compact and energy-saving vacuum-microelectronic devices, e.g. sensors or x-ray tubes. Since standard silicon semiconductor technology has been used for the fabrication, they may be easily integrated with other silicon based circuits and devices on the same chip. The silicon tip geometry and the operating conditions were optimized in order to obtain highly uniform and stable electron field emission from large area cathode arrays. A series of uniform hexagonal tip arrays containing each 547 tips were fabricated and characterized. The electron emission properties of both individual tips as well as of complete emitter arrays were investigated. A saturation level in the voltage-current characteristics was found, which can be explained by the limitation of the supply of electrons due to the p-type silicon wafer material. When operating the arrays in the current saturation regime at an emission current of ~ 1 nA per tip, a highly stable and low noise emission can be observed.