Hafnium carbide films and film-coated field emission cathodes
- Linfield Research Inst., McMinnville, OR (United States)
Uses for field emitter arrays range from video displays to microwave applications. The authors report here on experiments with physical vapor deposition of HfC and the subsequent electron emission properties of these film surfaces. In previous work, they have reported improvements to field emission turn on voltages and stability with the addition of ZrC to individual prefabricated W and Mo emitters and on field emission arrays of Mo and Si. This work with HfC seems to better the results obtained with ZrC. They have observed high current density field emission, greater than 1 {times} 10{sup 8} A/cm{sup 2}, from single crystal HfC and ZrC cathodes. These materials have work functions approximately 1 eV lower than W and Mo, making them attractive candidates for low voltage microelectronic field emitter arrays. However, in order to make these materials useful for practical arrays, it is necessary to be able to fabricate many identical field emitters from them. One possible way to achieve this is to deposit carbide films onto arrays fabricated from W, Mo, or Si. The challenge with this approach is the achievement of the desired properties (stability and low work function) in the deposited layers.
- OSTI ID:
- 423038
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960634-; TRN: IM9707%%345
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 1996 IEEE international conference on plasma science, Boston, MA (United States), 3-5 Jun 1996; Other Information: PBD: 1996; Related Information: Is Part Of IEEE conference record -- Abstracts: 1996 IEEE international conference on plasma science; PB: 324 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
INVESTIGATIONS OF CARBIDES AS CATHODES FOR THERMIONIC SPACE REACTORS. Final Report, May 15, 1961-August 31, 1962
Electron microscopy investigation Si and Mo field emitters coated with diamond powder by dielectrophoresis