| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2010 Electronic Materials Conference
|
| Symposium
|
TMS 2010 Electronic Materials Conference
|
| Presentation Title |
II6, Silicon Nanostructures Ion Implanted with Carbon and Nitrogen as an Electron Emitting Device |
| Author(s) |
Damian Carder, Andreas Markwitz, John Kennedy |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Damian Carder |
| Abstract Scope |
The search for cold cathode electron emitters with low-turn on field, high emission current density and high stability remains an active area of research. Silicon incorporating carbon and/or nitrogen is an attractive option for this purpose. This is due to the compatibility with silicon processing technologies and the expected enhanced properties of SiC(N). A cold cathode device from this material system should be more robust, partly due to the superior high temperature performance.
Here we demonstrate electron emission from silicon-based nanostructures following ion implantation with carbon and nitrogen. Self-assembled silicon nanostructures were prepared on the surface of wafer silicon, to act as a template, prior to multiple low-energy ion implantations of carbon and nitrogen. Following ion implantation the original distinct surface structure was lost. However, it is shown that a two step electron beam annealing process successfully re-establishes the nanoscale self-assembled surface features. The composition of the ion implanted and annealed layers have been studied using nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) which indicate a Si<SUB>0.6</SUB>C<SUB>0.1</SUB>N<SUB>0.3</SUB> layer extending from the surface to a depth of 110 - 130 nm. Electron emission has been measured from the as-implanted and post-annealed samples. The as-implanted sample has a relatively high turn on field of 44 V/µm for a current density of 0.01 mA/cm<SUP>2</SUP>. The implanted and annealed sample, however, shows a low turn on field of 10 V/µm for the same current density. This is comparable to other SiC-based nanostructure electron emission devices. The field emission characteristics demonstrate the promise and feasibility of this method for silicon-based cold cathode technologies. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Undecided |