Fabrication and characterization of silicon field emitter arrays by spin-on-glass etch-back process

Abstract

Silicon field emitter arrays have been fabricated by a novel method employing a two-step tip etch and spin-on-glass etch-back process using double layered thermal/tetraethylorthosilicate oxides as a gate dielectric, Partial etching was performed by low viscosity photoresist coating and O-2 plasma ashing in order to form the double layered gate dielectric. A small gate aperture with low gate leakage current was obtained by the novel process. The height and the radius of the fabricated emitter was about 1.1 mu m and less than 100 Angstrom, respectively. The anode emission current from a 256 tip array was 23 mu A (i.e., 90 nA/tip) at a gate voltage of 60 V. The turn-on gate voltage was 40 V. The gate current was less than 0.1% of the total current (i.e., gate current and anode current). (C) 1998 American Vacuum Society.