Fabrication of gated nano electron source for vacuum nanoelectronics

Many kinds of attractive new applications, such as image sensors, stationary X-ray sources, and the column-less SEM, are investigated as post field emission displays that use a gated nano electron source. The fabrication of the gated nano electron source is overviewed from the conventional method to the latest one, especially in regarding to the gate formation process. Multi-stacked gate electrode formation using an etch-back method was developed recently, which is a very attractive method for generating a focused electron beam. The traditional Spindt-type emitter fabrication method is also being improved to the one that is easier and applicable to large area substrates. Using a double-layered photoresist as a lift-off layer and using HiPIMS sputtering instead of an e-beam evaporator was proposed. Thin film-type FEA fabrication is also improved to make vertically standing thin film by ion irradiation, which is applicable for making an emitter array on a large sized substrate.