Abstract
In this paper, we report low work function mechanically and thermally robust microfabricated thermionic emitters. Conformal deposition of polycrystalline-silicon carbide (poly-SiC) was used to form stiff suspension legs with U-shaped cross sections, which increased the out-of-plane rigidity and helped to maintain a micrometer-scale gap between emitter and collector. The structurally robust poly-SiC suspended structure was coated with a thin tungsten layer to improve adhesion of a work function lowering coating (BaO/SrO/CaO). The measured emitter work function was 1.2 eV and emission current density was >0.1 A/cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> , which are promising for applications such as thermionic energy converters.
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