TY - JOUR

T1 - Characteristics of a silicon carbide field emission array under pre-breakdown conditions

AU - Морозов, Виктор Александрович

AU - Егоров, Николай Васильевич

AU - Трофимов, Василий Валерьевич

AU - Никифоров, Константин Аркадьевич

AU - Закиров, Ильдар Илюсович

AU - Кац, Виктор Михайлович

AU - Ильин, Владимир

AU - Иванов, Алексей

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - This study assesses promising field electron sources based on silicon carbide monolithic field emission array (FEA). FEA is fabricated on single-crystal wafers of silicon carbide (0001C) 6H-SiC of n-type conductivity using the technology of two-stage reactive ion etching in SF6/O2/Ar atmosphere. To implement conditions close to breakdown, an experimental setup based on high-voltage narrow pulses generating device GKVI-300 was used. A series of nanosecond voltage pulses with amplitudes from 120 to 250 kV was generated. To study the characteristics of the FEA in the pre-breakdown state, the beam of field emitted electrons was separated from the ion torch or cathode plasma, formed in the following breakdown phases, by placing a 50-μm-thick titanium foil under zero potential into the interelectrode gap. Current-voltage characteristics of peak-currents vs. peak-voltages passing through the foil are close to rectilinear in the Fowler-Nordheim coordinates. The current-voltage characteristics plotted for each of the pulses along increasing and decreasing branches show a discrepancy (hysteresis). After the experiments, the silicon carbide cathode FEA was studied in a scanning electron microscope. Keywords: field electron emission, field emitter array, silicon carbide, pre-breakdown, high-voltage narrow pulses.

AB - This study assesses promising field electron sources based on silicon carbide monolithic field emission array (FEA). FEA is fabricated on single-crystal wafers of silicon carbide (0001C) 6H-SiC of n-type conductivity using the technology of two-stage reactive ion etching in SF6/O2/Ar atmosphere. To implement conditions close to breakdown, an experimental setup based on high-voltage narrow pulses generating device GKVI-300 was used. A series of nanosecond voltage pulses with amplitudes from 120 to 250 kV was generated. To study the characteristics of the FEA in the pre-breakdown state, the beam of field emitted electrons was separated from the ion torch or cathode plasma, formed in the following breakdown phases, by placing a 50-μm-thick titanium foil under zero potential into the interelectrode gap. Current-voltage characteristics of peak-currents vs. peak-voltages passing through the foil are close to rectilinear in the Fowler-Nordheim coordinates. The current-voltage characteristics plotted for each of the pulses along increasing and decreasing branches show a discrepancy (hysteresis). After the experiments, the silicon carbide cathode FEA was studied in a scanning electron microscope. Keywords: field electron emission, field emitter array, silicon carbide, pre-breakdown, high-voltage narrow pulses.

UR - https://journals.ioffe.ru/articles/55946

U2 - 10.21883/TP.2023.04.55946.257-22

DO - 10.21883/TP.2023.04.55946.257-22

M3 - Article

VL - 68

SP - 531

EP - 537

JO - Technical Physics

JF - Technical Physics

SN - 1063-7842

IS - 4

ER -