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Metal Coated, fs-Laser Fabricated Silicon Spikes as Electron Emitters for Cold Cathode Applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Emmanuel Spanakis ,
Marios Barberoglou ,
Panagiotis Tzanetakis  and
Costas Fotakis
Emmanuel Spanakis
Affiliation:
spanakis@materials.uoc.gr, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Institute of Electronic Structure and Lasers, Heraklion, Greece
Marios Barberoglou
Affiliation:
m_bar@iesl.forth.gr, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Institute of Electronic Structure and Lasers, Heraklion, Greece
Panagiotis Tzanetakis
Affiliation:
tzaneta@physics.uoc.gr, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Institute of Electronic Structure and Lasers, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Costas Fotakis
Affiliation:
fotakis@iesl.forth.gr, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Institute of Electronic Structure and Lasers, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
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Abstract

We have studied the effect of thin metal coatings on the electron emission characteristics of self-assembled silicon microstructures with nearly identical sharp features. We have employed a common template of spikes produced by fs-laser self-driven structuring of Si on which several different metals have been deposited. We find that, in the pristine state and in vacuum conditions achievable in device applications, all metal coatings do not result in marked change of either the minimum electric field necessary for emission or the maximum obtainable current density. In contrast, the durability of the emitters depends strongly on the metal used and is always enhanced with respect to bare Si. Furthermore, no signs of degradation were found within the 3-day time scale of our experiments with gold and chromium. On the contrary, these two metal coatings resulted in emission characteristics improving with time in typical operation conditions.

Keywords

microstructurefield emissioncoating
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1195: Symposium B – Rellliability and Materials Issues of Semiconductor Optical and Electrical Devices and Materials , 2009 , 1195-B14-04
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2010

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