Prolonged electron emission as a method to fabricate a stable and bright dual ion/electron point source

Abstract

A method based on prolonged (few hundreds of hours) electron emission has been developed to fabricate a stable dual ion/electron source with an electron emission current as high as 5μA, which is ∼100 times higher than that of any dual source reported previously. Once fabricated, the dual emitter can be switched interchangeably between ion and electron emission mode within a few minutes after changing the polarity of the extraction electrode. The achievement of such a stable and bright dual ion/electron point emitter is an important step towards the further development of single-column focused ion/electron beam systems.