Field emission from W tips sharpened by field-assisted nitrogen and oxygen etching

Abstract

Field emission properties were studied for tips sharpened using field-assisted nitrogen and oxygen etching. Sharp single crystal tungsten <111>-oriented tips were fabricated and evaluated by Fowler-Nordheim plots and field-ion microscopy observations. The results demonstrated emissions at lower bias voltages due to the sharpening of the tip apex using the etching. The field emission properties and tip shapes after nitrogen etching were compared with those obtained after oxygen etching. © 2008 The Surface Science Society of Japan.