Field emission from an elliptical boss : exact versus approximate treatments

Field emission from tips, in comparison to planar surfaces, is complicated by current enhancement effects and changes in the image charge. We show that the approximations typically used for the calculation of the transmission coefficient are inappropriate for small spherical surfaces but adequate fo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 1993-08, Vol.63 (5), p.702-704
Main Authors: JENSEN, K. L, ZAIDMAN, E. G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties
Electron and ion emission by liquids and solids
impact phenomena
Exact sciences and technology
Field emission, ionization, evaporation, and desorption
Physics
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Field emission from tips, in comparison to planar surfaces, is complicated by current enhancement effects and changes in the image charge. We show that the approximations typically used for the calculation of the transmission coefficient are inappropriate for small spherical surfaces but adequate for elliptical surfaces. A simple analytical formula for the average emitting area may be derived based on the Fowler–Nordheim equation under conditions of field emission. By use of the elliptical approximation, a simple scale factor is sufficient to deal with spherical and pointed tips.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.109934