Vertical thin-film-edge field emitters fabricated by chemical beam deposition

Reports a new field emitter fabrication method based on conformal chemical beam deposition. These vertical thin-film-edge structures should be fundamentally better than conical emitters in high emission currents, low voltage operation, high packing density, low angular dispersion, insensitivity to oxidation and back-ion bombardment, and they should be extremely economical to manufacture. Advantages of this approach include superior film material properties such as small grain size, low stress, oxidation resistance and low work function, as well as a vertical design geometry and simplicity requiring no precise lithography or eventually no lithography at all.