Fitting nonlinear FN plots of field emission strips with a self-consistent parallel plane model

A self-consistent parallel plane (SCPP) model has been developed for fitting nonlinear Fowler-Nordheim (FN) plots of field emission strips. The saturation behavior of field emission strips is investigated by using a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. The field emission process is described quantum mechanically by the Fowler-Nordheim equation. Space-charge effects are automatically included in the FDTD PIC simulations. The simulation results have confirmed that the saturation is caused by the space charge effects.