Spatially resolved field emission measurements represent an important factor in further development of existing field emitter concepts. In this work, we present a novel approach that allows quantitative analysis of individual emission spots from integral current-voltage measurements using a low-cost and commercially available CMOS camera. By combining different exposure times to extrapolate oversaturated and underexposed pixels, a near congruence of integral current and image brightness is shown. The extrapolation also allows parallel investigation of all individual tips participating in the total current with currents ranging from a few nanoampere to one microampere per tip. The sensitivity, which is determined by the integral brightness-to-current ratio, remains unchanged within the measurement accuracy even after ten full measurement cycles. Using a point detection algorithm, the proportional current load of each individual tip of the field emitter array is analyzed and compared at different times during the initial measurement cycle. Together with the extracted I–V curves of single emission spots from the integral measurement, the results indicate the effect of premature burnout of particularly sharp tips during conditioning of the emitter.
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January 2022
Research Article|
January 10 2022
In situ quantitative field emission imaging using a low-cost CMOS imaging sensor
Special Collection:
Vacuum Nanoelectronics
Andreas Schels
;
Andreas Schels
a)
1
Institute of Physics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Universität der Bundeswehr München
, 85577 Neubiberg, Germany
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: andreas.schels@ketek.net
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Simon Edler
;
Simon Edler
1
Institute of Physics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Universität der Bundeswehr München
, 85577 Neubiberg, Germany
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Florian Herdl;
Florian Herdl
1
Institute of Physics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Universität der Bundeswehr München
, 85577 Neubiberg, Germany
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Walter Hansch;
Walter Hansch
1
Institute of Physics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Universität der Bundeswehr München
, 85577 Neubiberg, Germany
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Michael Bachmann
;
Michael Bachmann
2
KETEK GmbH
, 81737 Munich, Germany
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Daniela Ritter;
Daniela Ritter
2
KETEK GmbH
, 81737 Munich, Germany
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Markus Dudeck;
Markus Dudeck
2
KETEK GmbH
, 81737 Munich, Germany
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Felix Düsberg;
Felix Düsberg
2
KETEK GmbH
, 81737 Munich, Germany
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Manuel Meyer;
Manuel Meyer
2
KETEK GmbH
, 81737 Munich, Germany
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Andreas Pahlke;
Andreas Pahlke
2
KETEK GmbH
, 81737 Munich, Germany
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Matthias Hausladen;
Matthias Hausladen
3
Faculty of Applied Natural Sciences and Cultural Studies, OTH Regensburg
, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
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Philipp Buchner;
Philipp Buchner
3
Faculty of Applied Natural Sciences and Cultural Studies, OTH Regensburg
, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
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Rupert Schreiner
Rupert Schreiner
3
Faculty of Applied Natural Sciences and Cultural Studies, OTH Regensburg
, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
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a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: andreas.schels@ketek.net
Note: This paper is a part of the Special Topic Collection on Vacuum Nanoelectronics.
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 40, 014202 (2022)
Article history
Received:
October 14 2021
Accepted:
December 10 2021
Citation
Andreas Schels, Simon Edler, Florian Herdl, Walter Hansch, Michael Bachmann, Daniela Ritter, Markus Dudeck, Felix Düsberg, Manuel Meyer, Andreas Pahlke, Matthias Hausladen, Philipp Buchner, Rupert Schreiner; In situ quantitative field emission imaging using a low-cost CMOS imaging sensor. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 1 January 2022; 40 (1): 014202. https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0001551
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