FIELD EMITTER ARRAYS - MORE THAN A SCIENTIFIC CURIOSITY ?

Abstract
Field Emitter Arrays (FEAs) have become the basis of a new microelectronics technology which we have named Vacuum Microelectronics. It combines standard solid-state fabrication and processing with vacuum ballistic electron transport of field emitted electrons. It promises to extend the limits of todays integrated circuit technology and to address new applications such as flat panel displays and millimeter-wave amplification. FEAs also promise the scientific community a new class of electron sources which have the following properties : large current densities, narrow energy spread, low extraction voltages, integral focussing and deflection, optical excitation, and the possibility of multiple beams from a single chip.