Electron emission from gated silicide field emitter arrays

Silicidation of the top surface of Si tips with a Nb gate structure has been carried out to improve the emission behavior of Si field emitter arrays (FEAs). A Pt layer with a thickness of 5–10 nm was deposited through the gate opening and annealed at 850 °C. The electron emission was enhanced by a factor of 10 and the average emission per tip was 3.5 μA for a 10×10 FEA. Fowler–Nordheim plots indicated the decrease in work function after silicidation.