A quasi-planar thin film field emission diode

A novel quasi-planar thin-film field emitter is fabricated by thin-film deposition and wet etching processes. The spacing between the emitters and collectors could be well controlled on the basis of the thicknesses of Cr thin films, which create submicron gaps. A forming process increases emitter surface roughness and results in a higher field enhancement factor, which shows better field emission characteristics. The turn-on voltage (at which the current level is 100 nA) of the device with a Cr thin film thickness of 300 nm is as low as 12 V, and the current fluctuation in I hour test at a driving voltage of 20 V represents a variation from -86 to +114%.