Electron beam collimation with a 40,000 tip double-gate metal field emitter array and in-situ control of nanotip sharpness distribution

A double-gate metal field emitter array consisting of 40,000 emitter tips with large collimation gate apertures was was fabricated and its beam collimation property was tested. By applying a negative potential to the on-chip collimation gate electrode, a reduction of the beam envelope down to the array size with minimal reduction of the emission current was observed. In a further step, a noble gas conditioning process was applied to the tested device resulting in improved emission uniformity of the array.