Nanogap formation by palladium hydrogenation for surface conduction electron emitters fabrication

Abstract

Nanometer-scale gaps in Pd strips are obtained by hydrogen absorption under high pressure treatment. The resulting lattice constant increase due to the Pd phase transformation after hydrogen uptake results in a large compressive stress on the thin Pd films. Under proper geometric arrangement of the Pd electrode within a surface conduction electron (SCE) emitter structure, a single nanogap per SCE device is obtained. A turn-on voltage of 41 V is observed for emitters with a 25 nm gap. © 2007 American Institute of Physics.