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Title: Fabrication of silicon field emission tips for vacuum microelectronics by KOH/Alcohol/Water etching

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6079267· OSTI ID:6079267

The fabrication of sharp silicon tips for field emission cathodes by KOH/Alcohol/Water (KAW) solution was investigated. The KOH/Alcohol/Water solution was found to work better and easier than the Ethylene-Diamine/Pyrocathechol/Water solution in etching silicon tips. It etched the (100) silicon surface more slowly, but in a more controllable manor. The resulting tips were usually very uniform and pretty sharp in most studies. Actually, there were some systems showing non-uniform etching behavior. However, we were able to demonstrate that the uniformity could be improved by shifting the reaction from mass transfer controlled to chemical kinetics controlled. Such technique could allow us to fabricate uniform silicon cones even in a very primitive apparatus with non-uniform mass transfer. 5 refs., 7 figs.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE/DP
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
6079267
Report Number(s):
UCRL-ID-105671; ON: DE91006216
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English