Abstract
Hafnium Carbide (HfC)-coated polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) field emitter arrays (FEAs) were fabricated on an oxidized silicon wafer. The HfC coating layer was deposited by inductively coupled plasma-assisted magnetron sputtering. The effect of the HfC thickness on the emission characteristics was investigated by depositing 15-nm- and 30-nm-thick HfC on the tip. The thinner HfC could effectively improve the emission characteristics of poly-Si FEA, while the thicker one degrades the emission. Two methods of tip sharpening were also investigated: one is thermal oxidation sharpening which is commonly used for Si FEA fabrication, and the other is Ar ion sputtering. The apex radius of the thermally oxidized FEA was much smaller than that of the sputter-sharpened one. However, some irregularly shaped tips were found in the oxidized FEA, which are responsible for gate current. The detailed fabrication and emission characteristics, including gate current, will be reported.
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