Nickel field-emission microcathode: Art of fabrication, properties, and applications

An effective method for mass production of field-emission microcathodes (μFECs) is suggested and described. The main properties of the μFECs are calculated using the actual geometric parameters of the system (emitting nanotip radius ∼15-20 nm, interelectrode distance ∼1.5-2 μm, etc.). It is shown that the electric field strength in the immediate vicinity of a nanotip is several units of at comparatively low (100-200 V) voltages applied. A series of probable applications taking advantage of the unique features of the μFECs are suggested.