METHOD TO PRODUCE A FIELD-EMITTER ARRAY WITH CONTROLLED APEX SHARPNESS

摘要

A methodof manufacturing field-emitter arrays by a molding technique is described, wherein the shape of the mold holes (113) is uniformly controlled to obtain field emitter tips having diameters below 100 nm and blunted side edges. The method utilizes the repeated oxidation and etching of the mold substrate (101) consisting of single-crystal semiconductor mold wafers, where the mold holes (110) for individual emitters are fabricated by utilizing the crystal orientation dependence of the etching rate.