A new fitting method for the I-V characteristics of field emission arrays

A new method is proposed for fitting the I-V characteristics of the field-emission-limited diodes (FELDs) employing field emission arrays as the cathodes that may be operated at high current density. Fowler-Nordheim (FN) equation is modified with an effective work function to characterize the surface properties of the field emission array. The self-consistent FN equation including the space charge effects of the field emission electrons is demonstrated to be a good fit to the I-V characteristics of field emission arrays. The theoretical results show good agreement with experimental results.