Effect of conductive filaments on the electron emission properties in cathodes

Abstract

In this article, the modeling performed using Silvaco, Atlas device simulation was reported, where a new kind of enhancement mechanism within the FE process in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) was proposed. This model is equally applicable to all disordered and nano-crystalline materials. In particular, internal field enhancement where a conductive region is embedded in an insulating matrix. The simulation setup consists of a 0.1 /spl mu/m thick a-Si:H film on a highly doped silicon substrate and a vacuum gap of 0.5 /spl mu/m for the unmodified control sample. The set-up also shows that a conductive filament of 10 nm diameter is incorporated into the bulk a-Si:H thin film.