ELECTRON EMITTER AND FIELD EMISSION DEVICE PROVIDED WITH ELECTRON EMITTER

摘要

[Object] In an emitter of field-emission electron that includes a carbon film structure, a localized electric-field concentration is suppressed and an electric-current degradation or an electric-discharge phenomenon due to thermal deterioration is prevented from occurring. Moreover, a dispersion of electron emission is suppressed. Furthermore, in a field emission device to which the emitter has been applied, a desired function is achieved so that a more practical product is provided. [Solution] An electron emitter includes a guard electrode 13 on the outer circumferential side of a carbon film structure 10 which is formed on a substrate 7 by plasma CVD method. This guard electrode 13 includes a curved surface portion (a curved surface portion that curves from top toward a side opposite to the film-forming direction) 13a convex in a film-forming direction of the carbon film structure 10. A curvature radius R1 of an outer-circumferential-side portion of the curved surface portion 13a is larger than or equal to a curvature radius R2 of a carbon-film-structure-side portion of the curved surface portion 13a.