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In recent years Graphene-Oxide-Semiconductor (GOS) electron emitters have attracted a lot of interest due to their outstanding durability in modest vacuum conditions. However, the performance at ambient pressure remains largely unexplored. In this study GOS-emitters are characterized in nitrogen and air at atmospheric pressure, and compared with their vacuum characteristics. For this purpose, lifetime and IV-characteristics measurements are shown. Furthermore, the GOS-emitter was operated as an ionization source for ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) at ambient conditions.
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
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.
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%.
Field emitter arrays (FEAs) are a promising component for novel vacuum micro- and nanoelectronic devices, such as microwave power amplifiers or fast-switching X-ray sources. However, the interrelated mechanisms responsible for FEA degradation and failure are not fully understood. Therefore, we present a measurement method for quantitative observation of individual emission sites during integral operation using a low-cost, commercially available CMOS imaging sensor. The emission and degradation behavior of three differently doped FEAs is investigated in current-regulated operation. The measurements reveal that the limited current of the p-doped emitters leads to an activation of up to 55% of the individual tips in the array, while the activation of the n-type FEA stopped at around 30%. This enhanced activation results in a more continuous and uniform current distribution for the p-type FEA. An analysis of the individual emitter characteristics before and after a constant current measurement provides novel perspectives on degradation behavior. A burn-in process that trims the emitting tips to an integral current-specific ideal field enhancement factor is observed. In this process, blunt tips are sharpened while sharp tips are dulled, resulting in homogenization within the FEA. The methodology is described in detail, making it easily adaptable for other groups to apply in the further development of promising FEAs.
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.
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.
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.
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.
