Study of Dielectric Nanolayers and Multilayer Coated Emitters

Abstract

We report a fabrication method of multilayer coating of single tip field emitters. Tungsten field emitters coated with a multilayer of refractory oxides such as Al2O3, HfO2, which act as an additional potential barrier in the metal-vacuum system. Introducing additional barriers to the emitter's metal vacuum interface system can alter its emission characteristics. Thin oxide barriers were prepared using a recipe that involved the use of low-temperature atomic layer deposition. The parameters of the grown layers were studied by local electron atom probe tomography, field ion microscopy, and scanning transmission microscopy.