Vacuum Breakdown of Sub-Micrometer Gap with Pointed Electrode

Vacuum breakdown of very small gap in the range of 30nm to 2f m, between a pointed cathode of thin tungsten wire and a plane anode of stainless steel, was experimentally investigated. The experimental setup, which consists of both electrodes and precise positioning mechanisms actuated by piezoelectric devices, was installed in scanning electron microscope (SEM). Breakdown voltage decreases with decrease of gap spacing and/or radius of curvature at the tip of cathode. Theoretical consideration shows that the evaporation from the anode surface heated by field emission current is dominant factor of triggering vacuum breakdown. Pub. in International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases (26th), v4 p33-34, July 2003. Prepared in cooperation with National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Nagoya, Japan. This article is from ADA421147 International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases (26th) Held in Greifswald, Germany on 15-20 July 2003. Proceedings, Volume 4