Emission area of a field emitter array

Application of the Fowler-Nordheim formalism to the Spindt emitter results in computed emission areas much smaller than area of the tip. Presented is a model of the current-voltage characteristics of the Spindt emitter which resolves this discrepancy. The model includes the variation of the field across the tip which, if neglected, overestimates the current by as much as an order of magnitude and leads to an inaccurate emission area. A finite-element computation for the electrostatic potential is used to model the field-emitted current density via the Fowler-Nordheim formalism. The current density is summed to compute the macroscopic currents as functions of the collector and gate voltages which is used in turn to compute the plate resistance, transconductance, and voltage gain of the triode. The model is compared to experimental data