Der Einfluß der individuellen Feldkomponente auf die Elektronenemission der Metalle

Abstract

This investigation considers the field electron emission of metals under the influence of space charges. Usually the field action of the space charge is taken into account by the average field F̄ calculated from the Poisson equation. However the statistical distribution of the charge carriers causes field fluctuations on the surface of the metal. As the current density j depends exponentially on the field strength F, these fluctuations yield strong deviations from the relation j̄ ≈ j (F̄), where j̄ is the average current density. Accounting for the individual field component we find that in a certain range of space charge density the average current density j̄ is increased by several orders of magnitude. In the application this effect proves to be of great interest relative to the existence of the field arc.