A new lateral field emission device using chemical-mechanical polishing

A polysilicon lateral field emission device using chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) is proposed and experimental results on the first prototype are reported. In this method, dry oxidation process determines the interelectrode gap. Thus, it is relatively easy to form electrode gaps with dimensions less than 1 μm. Also, the process allows for good uniformity and reproducibility in controlling the interelectrode gap. The turn-on voltage of the fabricated device with interelectrode gap of 3500 /spl Aring/ is as low as 5.4 V and the emission current is as high as 9 μA at 9.3 V. From the Fowler-Nordheim (FN) equation, field emitting area (/spl alpha/) and field enhancement factor (/spl beta/) are estimated to explain the low turn-on voltage and the high emission current. The emission current fluctuation is about /spl plusmn/4% for 25 min.