Title :
Diamond field emitter array for high temperature microelectronics applications
Author :
Kang, W.P. ; Wisitsora-at, A. ; Davidson, J.L. ; Kerns, D.V.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN, USA
Abstract :
A diamond field emitter array for high temperature microelectronics applications has been developed. Electron field emission characteristics of uniformly constructed micro-pyramids of polycrystalline diamond with varying sp2 content have been systematically investigated. Concurrently, heat treatment was performed and emission characteristics of the post-treated tips were evaluated. The experimental results show that the field emission characteristics of the diamond can be improved by increasing the sp2 content and performing heat treatment. The emission current is significantly enhanced and the turn-on electric field is drastically reduced. Furthermore, the electron field emission characteristics of the post heat-treated diamond tips are found to be temperature insensitive up to at least 250°C. Thus, the diamond field emitter is a new electronic candidate for high temperature applications, superior to the silicon emitter which is temperature insensitive only up to 80°C
Keywords :
arrays; diamond; electron field emission; heat treatment; vacuum microelectronics; 250 C; C; diamond FEA; electron field emission characteristics; emission current enhancement; field emitter array; heat treatment; high temperature microelectronics applications; micro-pyramids; polycrystalline diamond; post-treated tips; turn-on electric field reduction; varying sp2 content; Electron emission; Field emitter arrays; Heat treatment; Microelectronics; Numerical analysis; Performance evaluation; Plasma temperature; Resistance heating; Scanning electron microscopy; Silicon;
Conference_Titel :
High Temperature Electronics Conference, 1998. HITEC. 1998 Fourth International
Conference_Location :
Albuquerque, NM
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-4540-1
DOI :
10.1109/HITEC.1998.676780
