Conductively Coated 3D Printed Emitters for Electron Devices

The additive manufacturing method is used to produce electron emitters using a two-photon laser printer (2FL). Structures are manufactured on a silicon wafer from photosensitive resins, which form a base shape of the structures on top of which a conductive layer is deposited afterward. These structures can take on various geometries, including pyramidal, conical, or ellipsoidal shapes. Good results in terms of mechanical stability were achieved for structures of square pyramids, 50 µm in height. The structures on chips are measured in a field emission experiment chamber operated under an ultrahigh vacuum (∼10 ⁻⁷ Pa).