Silicon-based metallic micro grid for electron field emission

A micro-scale metal grid based on a silicon frame for application to electron field emission devices is introduced and experimentally demonstrated. A silicon lattice containing aperture holes with an area of 80 × 80 µm² and a thickness of 10 µm is precisely manufactured by dry etching the silicon on one side of a double-polished silicon wafer and by wet etching the opposite side. Because a silicon lattice is more rigid than a pure metal lattice, a thin layer of Au/Ti deposited on the silicon lattice for voltage application can be more resistant to the geometric stress caused by the applied electric field. The micro-fabrication process, the images of the fabricated grid with 88% geometric transparency and the surface profile measurement after thermal feasibility testing up to 700 °C are presented. (paper)