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

Abstract

AbstractWe 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.