Electrode structures
US6924158B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 13, 2002 |
| Grant date | Aug 2, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 13, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J9/025
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method of forming vertical knife-edge cold-cathode field emission electron sources with self-aligned gate electrodes and sub-micron electrode separations. The method exploits the enhancement of ion-beam erosion rates obtained in metals at oblique ion incidence, which allows the preferential removal of a metal layer at the convex edge of a mesa 2 to create a well-defined separation between the horizontal and vertical surfaces of the metal. The horizontal surface may be used as the gate and the vertical surface as the cathode in a vacuum triode structure. Electrical isolation is obtained by forming the mesa 2 in an insulating layer or substrate 1. Isolation may be improved by removing the insulating material in the vicinity of the metal edges. Field-induced electron emission from the cathode may be obtained at low voltage based on the enhancement of the electric field at the sharp tip of the cathode.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.