The properties and efficiency of the emission current density produced by a metallic array ofpyramidal structures are investigated. The theoretical results obtained by numerical integrationof the corresponding Laplace equation using a finite differences scheme offer usefulinformation for the optimization of field emission devices based on cathodes with thisgeometry. Our study shows that the inter-pyramidal distance strongly affects the currentdensity, and even more important for this issue is the protrusion characteristics of thesestructures. Another relevant, although less important, parameter determining this density is theanode–cathode distance. The effect of the array characteristics on the maximum local electricfield intensity is also discussed.
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