Fabrication process for high-frequency field-emission device

Details Fabrication process for high-frequency field-emission device Fabrication process for high-frequency field-emission device

1995-09-06

1997-05-13

Ramsey, Kenneth J.

Electric lamp or space discharge component or device manufacturi

Process

Electrode making

445 50, H01J 902

Patent

active

056286635

ABSTRACT:
An improved high-frequency field-emission microelectronic device (10) has a substrate (20) and an ultra-thin emitter electrode (30) extending parallel to the substrate and having an electron-emitting lateral edge (110) facing an anode (40) across an emitter-to-anode gap (120). A control electrode (70), having a lateral dimension only a minor fraction of the emitter-to-anode gap width, is disposed parallel to the emitter and spaced apart from the emitter by an insulator (60) of predetermined thickness. A vertical dimension of the control electrode is only a minor fraction of the height of the anode. The control electrode may substantially surround a portion of the anode, spaced from the anode in concentric relationship. Inter-electrode capacitance between the emitter and the control electrode has only an extremely small value, consisting of only a very small area term and a very small fringing-field term, thus allowing operation of the microelectronic device at higher frequencies or switching speeds than heretofore. Inter-electrode capacitance between the control electrode and the anode also has only an extremely small value, thus improving higher frequency performance further. Devices having a plurality of control electrodes may also be made with improved inter-electrode capacitance. In order to consistently realize improved performance, a fabrication process (S1-S18) is specially adapted for manufacturing the device with small and precise dimensions and suitably precise alignment. The specially adapted process uses two sacrificial materials (150 and 160), one of which forms a temporary mandrel, and uses a conformal conductive layer to form each control electrode while automatically achieving the required alignment precision.

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