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arXiv · 2009.02552

A Cascade Electron Source Based on Series Horizontal Tunneling Junctions

Zhiwei Li·Xianlong Wei
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Abstract

On-chip electron sources have wide potential applications in miniature vacuum electronic devices and emission efficiency is one of their performance benchmarks. A cascade electron source based on series metal-insulator-metal horizontal tunneling junctions is proposed, where free electrons are additively extracted from each tunneling junction. A cascade electron source with n horizontal tunneling junctions shows a theoretical emission efficiency of approximately {\eta}(n)=1-(1-{\eta}_0 )^n, with {\eta}_0 being the efficiency of a single tunneling junction. Experimentally, a cascade electron source with three Si-SiOx-Si tunneling junctions is demonstrated, achieving an emission efficiency as high as 47.6%. This work provides a new way of realizing highly efficient on-chip electron sources.

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Zhiwei Li, Xianlong Wei. 2020-09-05. A Cascade Electron Source Based on Series Horizontal Tunneling Junctions. https://doi.org/10.1109/ted.2020.3044868

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