Emission-uniformity improvement and work-function reduction of Si emitter tips by ethylene gas exposure

Emission uniformity improvement of a silicon field emitter array (FEA) by e thylene (C2H4) gas exposure has been investigated in detail especially abou t its origin. Scanning Maxwell-stress microscopy has been utilized to evalu ate the surface potential at the Si tip apex in the FEA before and after th e improvement. Careful consideration to eliminate the influence of the surr ounding gate has been made in order to estimate work function at the tip ap ex. It has been found that the work function at the tip apex decreased upon C2H4 exposure. It has been clarified that the uniformity improvement by C2 H4 exposure is mainly due to the reduction in the tip work function. (C) 20 01 American Vacuum Society.