Beam quality and thermal stability in field emitter arrays

Abstract

Summary form only given, as follows. The emerging field of vacuum microelectronics offers exciting possibilities in miniature coherent radiation sources, flat panel displays, and ultra-fast logic circuits. The crucial component is the electron emitter, which consists of an array of sharp tips from which electrons undergo field emission according to the Fowler-Nordheim (FN) relation. In this paper, we present a theoretical analysis of the beam emittance and of the beam brightness expected from a field emitter array. Scaling laws for these quantities are constructed that take into account the electric field enhancement factors that accompany the sharp tips, and they are derived in a manner consistent with the FN relation. These scaling laws can be used immediately once the following parameters are given: the width and height, as well as the packing density, of the field emitter array, the anode-cathode (A-K) spacing, the A-K voltage drop, and the FN coefficients A, and B. Results of the ongoing study of the thermal stability of field emitters are reported.