Field electron emission from ultra-ifigh density Si nanotip arrays

Earlier, welldeveloped techniques of reactive ion etching (insotropic) and wet chemical etching (anisotropic) in combination with oxidation sharpening were used for the fabrication of nanotip arrays for field electron emission applications. The fabrications require lithography technique to form masks for the following etching, and normally high temperature oxidation sharpening process is needed. In the present paper, we report a non-lithography and non-oxidation-sharpening method for ultra-high .&nsity Si nanotip arrays fabrication. In addition, novel processes were developed to obtain Si nanotip array with different coating materials on apex, i.e., Sic and amorphous Si (a-Si). Comparative studies were carried out on the field electron emission properties of the Si nanotip arrays with different coated layers.