Surface application of chromium silicide for improved stability of field emitter arrays

This paper investigates the merits of chromium silicide coating of microtips. The chromium coated silicon microtips were prepared by the silicidation process. The current-voltage characteristics, current fluctuation and surface morphologies of each sample were measured and analysed. It was found that the application of chromium silicide to silicon field emitters decreases the current fluctuation range to about 50 % that of a pure silicon emitter and shows high discharge resistance. Furthermore, it increases the emission current and reduces the onset voltage of tunnelling. The reason for this stabilisation can be explained by the reduced number of chemically active sites resulting in a silicide-protected and chemically-stable layer, and higher electrical conductivity of the material.