Theoretical and Experimental Aspects of Electron Field Emission from a Blade-Type Silicon Cathode

This work explores the prospects for using a blade-type silicon field emitter as a miniature electron source formed on the basis of reproducible CMOS semiconductor technology. The cathode sample was fabricated on a highly doped silicon substrate using contact lithography and deep anisotropic etching. The cathode had the shape of a rectangular bar with a flat top edge inclined relative to its plane at an angle of anisotropic etching. Using a computerized stand for multichannel collection and recording of field emission data in a pulsed high-voltage scanning mode, its current-voltage characteristic was obtained. Based on the numerical simulation of the electric field on the emitter surface in COMSOL Multiphysics, the calculation of the field emission current was carried out within the Forbes-Dean approximation. In the high voltage region, good agreement has been demonstrated between current values obtained from theoretical calculations and experiment. The simulation also revealed the need to improve the blade geometry for further increasing electron emission efficiency.