A NOVEL SELF-CONSISTENT SIMULATOR FOR CURRENT-DENSITY-VOLTAGE CHARACTERISTICS OF SEMICONDUCTOR FIELD EMITTERS

An efficient and reliable simulator has been developed which solves th e Poisson, continuity, and Schrodinger equations self-consistently to obtain the current-density-voltage characteristics of n-type semicondu ctor field emitters of electrons. The one-dimensional simulator takes into account the multidimensional geometry dependent-field variation n ear the semiconductor tip. The results obtained show the effects of th e semiconductor parameters such as electron affinity, effective mass, mobility, and dielectric constant on the emission characteristics. The doping concentration is found to have a strong influence on the emitt ed current. The emission characteristics show deviations from linearit y in a Fowler-Nordheim-type plot especially at high currents. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(98)03810-8].