Field emission from silicon microstructures formed by femtosecond laser assisted etching

Summary form only given. Field-emission arrays have been extensively investigated for device applications such as flat panel displays, electron multipliers and microelectronics. The use of silicon structures as emitters is especially attractive due to the low cost and availability of silicon. Previously, our group reported the formation of sharp, micron-sized conical structures in quasi-ordered arrays after irradiating a silicon surface with hundreds of femtosecond-laser pulses in an atmosphere of SF/sub 6/. These conical microstructures exhibit sharp tips with a radius of curvature /spl sim/0.25 /spl mu/m and a subtended angle of less than 20/spl deg/. Emission currents suitable for applications and comparable with current standards are achieved with no further processing beyond the laser irradiation required to form our microstructures. We report on the field emission properties of these conical microstructures through analysis of the current-voltage characteristics and the Fowler-Nordheim plots obtained for various anodecathode separations.