Effect of diamond-like carbon coating on the emissioncharacteristics of molybdenum field emitter arrays

We have studied the electron emission characteristics of Mo field emitter arrays (FEAs) using a diamond-like carbon (DLC) film deposited by a layer-by-layer technique using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The turn-on voltage was lowered from 55 to 30 V by a 20 nm thick hydrogen-free DLC coating and maximum emission current was increased from 166 to 831 μA. Also the gate voltage required to get the anode current of 0.1 (μA/emitter) decreases from 77 to 48 V. Furthermore, the emission current from DLC coated Mo FEAs is more stable than that of noncoated Mo FEAs     

Enhancement of electron emission efficiency and stability ofmolybdenum-tip field emitter array by diamond like carbon coating

The effect of diamond like carbon (DLC) films, coated by a layer-by-layer technique using PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition) on the electron emission characteristics of molybdenum (Mo)-tip field emitter array (FEA) is examined. The turn-on voltage was lowered from 80 V for the Mo-tip to 65 V for the DLC-coated Mo-tip FEA while the maximum emission current was increased from 140 μA for the Mo-tip to 320 μA for the DLC-coated Mo-tip FEA composed of 900 emitters. For an anode current of 0.1 (μA/emitter) the gate voltage for the DLC-coated Mo-tip FEA and Mo-tip FEA was about 87 and 107 V, respectively. It was also confirmed that the emission current of a DLC-coated Mo-tip FEA was more stable than that of a Mo-tip FEA     

Ultralow-voltage boron-doped diamond field emitter vacuum diode

A boron-doped diamond field emitter diode with ultralow turn-on voltage and high emission current is reported. The diamond field emitter diode structure with a built-in cap was fabricated using molds and electrostatic bonding techniques. The emission current versus anode voltage of the capped diamond emitter diode with boron doping, sp² content, and vacuum thermal electric (VTE) treatment shows a very low turn-on voltage of 2 V. A high emission current of 1 μA at an anode voltage of less than 10 V can be obtained from a single diamond tip. The turn-on voltage is significantly lower than comparable silicon field emitters     

Improvement of electron emission efficiency and stability bysurface application of molybdenum silicide onto gated poly-Si fieldemitters

As an approach to improve electron field emission and its stability, molybdenum (Mo) silicide formation on n⁺ polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) emitters has been investigated. Mo silicide was produced by direct metallurgical reaction, namely, deposition of Mo and subsequent rapid thermal annealing. The surface morphologies and emission properties of Mo-silicided poly-Si (Mo-polycide) emitters have been examined and compared with those of poly-Si emitters. While anode current of 0.1 μA per tip could be obtained at the gate voltage of 82 V from poly-Si emitters, the same current level was measured at 72 V from Mo-polycide emitters. In addition, the application of Mo silicide onto poly-Si emitters reduced the emission current fluctuation considerably. These results show that the polycide emitters can have potential applications in vacuum microelectronics to obtain superior electron emission efficiency and stability     

Silicide application on gated single-crystal, polycrystalline andamorphous silicon FEAs. I. Mo silicide

In order to improve both the level and the stability of electron field emission, the tip surface of silicon field emitters have been coated with a molybdenum layer of thickness 25 nm through the gate opening and annealed rapidly at 1000°C in inert gas ambient. The gate voltages of single-crystal silicon (c-Si), polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) and amorphous silicon (a-Si) field emitter arrays (FEAs) required to obtain anode current of 10 nA per tip are 90 V, 69 V, and 84 V, respectively. In the case of the silicide emitters based on c-Si, poly-Si and a-Si, these gate voltages are 76 V, 63 V, and 69 V, respectively. Compared with c-Si, poly Si and a-Si field emitters, the application of Mo silicide on the same silicon field emitters exhibited 9.6 times, 2.1 times, and 4.2 times higher maximum emission current, and 6.1 times, 3.7 times, and 3.1 times lower current fluctuation, respectively. Moreover, the emission currents of the silicide FEAs depending on vacuum level are almost same in the range of 10^-9~10^-6 torr. This result shows that silicide is robust in terms of anode current degradation due to the absorption of air molecules     

A novel fabrication process of a silicon field emitter array withthermal oxide as a gate insulator

We have successfully developed a fabrication process of a silicon field emitter array with a gate insulator formed by Si₃N₄ sidewall formation and subsequent thermal oxidation. This process overcomes some problems in the conventional fabrication, such as high etch rate, low breakdown field, and gate hole expansion arising from evaporation of gate oxide. Therefore, we could improve process stability and emission performance, and also reduce gate leakage current. The optimum process conditions were determined by process simulations using SUPREM-4. The turn-on voltage of the fabricated field emitters was approximately 38 V. An anode current of 0.1 μA (1 μA) per tip was measured for a 625-tip array at the gate bias of 80 V (100 V), and the gate current was less than 0.3% of the anode current at those emission levels     

Lateral field emission diodes using SIMOX wafer

Lateral field emission diodes were fabricated by using separation by implantation of oxygen (SIMOX) wafer and their current-voltage characteristics (I-V) were analyzed. Applying conventional photolithography and local oxidation of silicon (LOGOS) process, we fabricated single-crystalline lateral silicon field emitters with very sharp cathode and anode tips and very short cathode to anode spacing ranging from 0.3 to 0.8 μm as well. Two different types of tips, tapered and wedge-shaped emitters, were typically formed according to oxidation time. The turn-on voltages for both types of diodes were as low as 22~25 V and the emission currents were as high as 6 μA/tip at voltages of 35~38 V. From the Fowler-Nordheim (FN) equation, field emitting area (A) and field enhancement factor (β) for both types of diodes were estimated to explain the low turn-on voltages and the high emission currents     

Field emission characteristics of CoSi2/TaN-coatedsilicon emitter tips

This work has improved the emission characteristics of Si emitter tips by coating a CoSi₂/TaN bilayer on the tips. The CoSi₂ layer was grown in situ by a reactive chemical-vapor deposition of cyclopentadienyl dicarbonyl cobalt at 650°C. The TaN was then deposited on the CoSi₂ layer at 550°C by a reactive sputtering of Ta with N as a reactive gas. The CoSi₂/TaN-coated emitters showed a lower turn-on voltage and higher emission current than the CoSi₂- or TaN-coated emitters due to the low work function by TaN and the easy transport of electron by CoSi₂ with low resistivity. The long-term emission stability of CoSi₂/TaN-coated Si emitter was as good as TaN-coated emitter     

A novel in situ vacuum encapsulated lateral field emitter triode

We have designed and fabricated a novel lateral field emitter triode, which is in situ vacuum encapsulated so that any troublesome additional vacuum sealing process is not required. The device exhibits low turn-on voltage of 7 V, stable current density of 2 μA per tip, and high transconductance of 1.7 μS per 100 tips field emitter array at V_AC=22 V. An in situ vacuum encapsulation employing recessed cavities by isotropic RIE (reactive ion etch) method and an electron beam evaporated molybdenum vacuum seal are implemented to fabricate the new field emitter triode. The superb field emitter characteristics are probably due to sub-micron dimension device structure and the pencil type lateral cathode tip employing upper and lower LOCOS oxidation     

钼硅化物改善刀口型硅尖场发射性能研究

采用湿法刻蚀、电子束蒸发、真空高温退火方法,成功制备出钼硅化物薄膜刀口型尖锥场发射阵列,并对涂敷钼硅化物薄膜刀口型尖锥阵列和刀口型硅尖锥阵列的电子发射性能进行了测试比较.结果表明,在刀口型硅尖锥阵列上制备钼硅化物薄膜,能够提高场发射电流密度和发射稳定性.该结论对进一步研究金属硅化物在改善场发射性能方面有着重要的意义.     

Silicide application on gated single-crystal, polycrystalline andamorphous silicon FEAs. II. Co silicide

For pt. I see ibid., vol.48, no.1, p.149-54 (Jan. 2001). For enhancement and stabilization of electron emission, Co silicides were formed from Co, Co/Ti and Ti/Co layers on silicon FEAs. Since Ti prevents oxygen adsorption on the Co film during silicidation, uniform and smooth Co silicide layers can be obtained by depositing Co first and then Ti on silicon tips, followed by rapid annealing. Among Co silicide FEAs, Co silicide formed from Ti/Co bi-layers shows the lowest leakage current, the highest failure voltage over 152 V and the largest anode current over 1 mA at the gate voltage of 150 V. Compared with silicon field emitters, the silicide FEAs formed from Ti/Co layers exhibited a significant improvement in maximum emission current, emission current fluctuation and stability, and failure voltage     

A new lateral field emission device using chemical-mechanicalpolishing

A polysilicon lateral field emission device using chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) is proposed and experimental results on the first prototype are reported. In this method, dry oxidation process determines the interelectrode gap. Thus, it is relatively easy to form electrode gaps with dimensions less than 1 μm. Also, the process allows for good uniformity and reproducibility in controlling the interelectrode gap. The turn-on voltage of the fabricated device with interelectrode gap of 3500 Å is as low as 5.4 V and the emission current is as high as 9 μA at 9.3 V. From the Fowler-Nordheim (FN) equation, field emitting area (α) and field enhancement factor (β) are estimated to explain the low turn-on voltage and the high emission current. The emission current fluctuation is about ±4% for 25 min     

Low turn-on voltage field emission triodes with selective growth ofcarbon nanotubes

A low turn-on voltage, field emission triode array has been fabricated using the selective deposition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in a microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) system. The field emission triodes exhibited a low turn-on voltage of 13 V and a large emission current of 23 μA with the gate voltage at 60 V. Short-term stress reveals a 10% current fluctuation within 1800 sec. The excellent electric properties suggest that the array shows potential for application in field emission displays and vacuum microelectronics     

敷ZrC的Mo Spindt阵列阴极的发射性能

对Spin＆阵列阴极表面涂敷ZrC薄膜后的发射性能进行了研究。本实验采用原位沉积的方法实现ZrC薄膜的涂敷，所谓原位沉积就是在沉积完Mo尖锥后，立刻沉积ZrC薄膜，其中，ZrC厚度为5～10nm。涂敷ZrC薄膜后的Spindt阵列阴极（ZrC FEA）在相同条件下与Mo阵列相比呈现出良好的发射性能，如相同栅极电压下的发射电流密度升高，开启电压降低。为清洁和光滑发射体表面，本实验在测试前对ZrC FEA进行了场解吸附处理，并比较了ZrC FEA在处理前后发射性能的变化。     

Amorphous-silicon-on-glass field emitter arrays

An amorphous-silicon (a-Si) field emitter array (FEA) has been fabricated on a glass substrate and characterized, At first, a 0.3-μm-thick Cr film was deposited on the glass by vacuum evaporation technique and subsequently a 1-μm-thick Si film was deposited on the Cr film by conventional RF sputtering technique with an undoped Si target at room temperature. The sputtered Si film was identified as amorphous from X-ray diffraction patterns and had a resistivity of 3-5 kΩ-cm. The FEA consists of 1-μm-high emitter tips and a gate electrode with 1.8-μm-diameter openings. This a-Si FEA with 5×5 (=25) tips exhibited a threshold voltage of 30 V and an emission current of 2 μA at a gate voltage of 100 V. Structure and emission characteristics are discussed     

A formation of cobalt silicide on silicon field emitter arrays byelectrical stress

A novel process utilizing electrical stress is proposed for the formation of Co silicide on single crystal silicon (c-Si) FEAs to improve the field emission characteristics. Co silicide FEAs formed by electrical stress (ES) exhibited a significant improvement in turn-on voltage and emission current compared with c-Si FEAs. The improvement mainly comes from the lower effective work function of Co silicide and less blunting of tips during silicidation by electrical stress in an ultra high vacuum (UHV) environment less than 10^-8 torr     

Field-emission enhancement of Mo-tip field-emitted arrays fabricated by using a redox method

This work has improved the emission characteristics for Mo-tips of field-emitter array (FEA) through a reduction-oxidation (redox) process. The maximum emission current of the 1600 tips array significantly increased from 23.2 /spl mu/A to 2.36 mA with the turn-on voltage decreasing from 70 V to 48 V after the redox treatment. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicate that the main factor improving electron field emission characteristics for the Mo-tips is the increase in enhancement factor (/spl beta/) and, possibly, number of emission sites of Mo films.     

A CMOS compatible lateral emitter switched thyristor with enhancedturn-on capability

A new Lateral Emitter Switched Thyristor structure (LEST) is proposed and experimentally verified. The structure differs from the conventional LEST in that it embeds a floating ohmic contact between the n^- drift region and the n⁺ floating emitter. Both simulation and experimental results show that the device has an enhanced turn-on capability compared with the conventional LEST without deteriorating its other characteristics. The device is fabricated using a 3 μm CMOS process to have a 320 V breakdown voltage and a 0.7 V threshold voltage. Thyristor turn-on is observed at an anode voltage below 2 V. The maximum MOS controllable current density is in excess of 200 A/cm² with 5 V gate voltage     

A new fabrication process of field emitter arrays with submicrongate apertures using local oxidation of silicon

The field emitter arrays with submicron gate apertures for low voltage operation have been successfully fabricated by modifying the conventional Spindt process. The key element of the new process is forming the gate insulator by local oxidation of silicon, resulting in the reduction of the gate hole size due to the lateral encroachment of oxide. The gate hole diameter of 0.55 μm has been obtained from the original mask pattern size of 1.55 μm. An anode current of 0.1 μA per emitter is measured at the gate voltage of about 53 V, while the gate current is less than 0.3% of the anode current. To obtain the same current level from a Spindt-type emitter with the same gate hole diameter as the mask pattern size, a gate bias of about 82 V is needed     

A novel approach for focusing electron beams using low-cost ceramicgrid [field emitter arrays]

A low-cost ceramic grid was used as a stand-alone focusing electrode in field emitter arrays to obtain high brightness and small electron beam size. The ceramic grid with an array of 200-μm holes was made from DuPont 591 with low-cost equipment. Beam size is controllable by the voltage applied to the focusing grid. Light intensity profiles were measured and analyzed. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the light profile excited by electron emission from 30-μm wide field emitter arrays is 60 μm at 5000 V with 6 mm anode-cathode separation. At an anode voltage of 2000 V and gate voltage of 55 V, focusing is optimized at a focusing voltage of 30 V. Arc-free operation at 10 kV was achieved, thereby promoting improved phosphor efficiency. This focusing approach may lead to improve lifetimes for field emission displays and other vacuum microelectronic devices by significantly increasing the total vacuum volume and providing a means for improved getter utilization