Fabrication of gated wedge-shaped field emitter array by plasma etching and gold plating

A gated wedge-shaped field emitter has been fabricated by anisotropic etching and gold plating. The structure displays high emitter aspect ratio, sharp emitter tip and small gate-to-tip distance which are crucial in lowering the threshold voltage and increasing the emission efficiency of the device. The process is fairly simple with high processing latitude, and is, therefore, suitable for applications such as flat panel displays and ultra-high frequency devices.