In situ transmission-electron-microscope observation of electron-beam-deposited Pt field emitter under field emission and field evaporation

In this study, the structural changes in the electron beam-deposited Pt field emitter under field emission and field evaporation were investigated by in situ transmission-electron-microscope (TEM) observation. The structure of the Pt field emitter was found to be unchanged under field emission with an emission current of less than 480 nA. On the contrary, the top of the Pt field emitter was found to be sharpened after field evaporation. The Pt nanocrystals were found to move to the Pt tip top after field evaporation. These results indicated the possibility of the improvement of field emission properties by field evaporation.