Silicon Field Emitter Arrays Integrated with MOSFET Devices

We report a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) controlled field emission array (FEA) device. The device uses a lateral double diffused MOSFET (LD-MOSFET) to control electron supply to the surface. The FEAs were fabricated using isotropic etch of silicon, oxidation sharpening and chemical mechanical polishing. The LD-MOSFETs have a threshold voltage of 0.48V while the FEAs have a turn-on voltage of 28V. Analysis using the FN formulation indicates that a silicon tip radius of 11 nm would fit the FEA IV data. The tip radius from the electrical data is very close to the average tip radius of 10 nm obtained from transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis. The IV characterization of the MOSFET/FEA demonstrated control of electron emission by the MOSFET gate voltage.