Determination of molybdenum thin film sputtering parameters, and investigation of the effect of Mo thin films deposition on field emission properties of silicon field emitter arrays

Molybdenum (Mo) thin films are deposited using RF sputtering technique, and the effect of operational pressure and RF power on resistivity of the films are investigated. Point of minimum resistivity is determined, and is used to sputter a thin layer of Mo on top of a pre-fabricated, oxidation sharpened, silicon field emitter array (Si-FEA). Geometric and field emission properties of the arrays are investigated before and after deposition of 100nm Mo thin film. I-V characteristics of the FEAs are measured and presented. It is shown that the Mo-covered array shows better emission properties and lower turn-on voltage (<190V), compared to the simple Si-FEA.