Use of Boron Nitride for Improved Cold-Cathode Electron Field Emission Technology

摘要

The emission characteristics of nanostructured boron nitride emitter arrays have been investigated for improved cold-cathode field emission technology. The performance has been evaluated in the presence of several gases (Air, water vapor, oxygen, and Xe) that are likely to be encountered in ion- propulsion applications in low-earth orbit. The emission performance is found to be insensitive to all gases and pressures tested except for oxygen where a 30% decrease in the emission yield is observed in the presence of oxygen but complete recovery is observed after exposure to ultrahigh vacuum. A slight enhancement is observed in the case of water vapor. A novel MEMS gate structure was designed and constructed for use with field emission arrays. The performance of the MEMS gate will be evaluated in the next phase of the research.