Analysis of field emission from three-dimensional structures

Abstract

An analysis of the field emission from emitter tips with the geometry of a prolate ellipsoid of revolution indicates that the field enhancement factor, β, and effective emission area, α, are not constant but instead depend on the applied field. The added complexity of a materials related limit on the minimum time for transition of an electron from the solid into the vacuum is also examined in the analysis. The calculated variations of α and β are as large as 35%, and in some instances could result in erroneous interpretation of measured current-voltage (I-V) characteristic data.