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Spindt Cathodes and Other Field Emitter Arrays

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Modern Developments in Vacuum Electron Sources

Part of the book series: Topics in Applied Physics ((TAP,volume 135))

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Abstract

Based on the introduction of semiconductor technologies, the application of thin-film and micromachining techniques to fabricate integrated vacuum field emission devices in the submicron size range became feasible in the 1960s. These were pioneered at SRI by C. Spindt and colleagues, who first introduced gated field emitter arrays. There are several previous extended reviews on this topic published until 2001 [1]. The present chapter presents a short wrap up of fabrication techniques and structures, and a performance update on Spindt arrays and on field emitter arrays (FEAs) in general. This chapter will only deal with regular array structures and their specific advantages and problems; random structures will not be discussed. A critical evaluation of progress and of application of FEAs in devices is given.

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Acknowledgement

The authors want to thank Ivor Brodie for his advice w.r.t. relevant literature.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Consultant, Aachen, Germany

    Georg Gaertner

  2. Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany

    Wolfram Knapp

  3. Knapptron GmbH Vacuum Electronics, Möser, Germany

    Wolfram Knapp

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  1. Georg Gaertner
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Correspondence to Georg Gaertner .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Georg Gaertner

  2. FMB/IFQ, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany

    Wolfram Knapp

  3. Advanced Technology Institute and Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, UK

    Richard G. Forbes

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Gaertner, G., Knapp, W. (2020). Spindt Cathodes and Other Field Emitter Arrays. In: Gaertner, G., Knapp, W., Forbes, R.G. (eds) Modern Developments in Vacuum Electron Sources. Topics in Applied Physics, vol 135. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47291-7_12

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