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Nitride-based Cold Cathodes for Minature and Rugged Electron Sources--Ionwerks, 2472 Bolsover, Suite 255, Houston, TX 77005-2537; 713-522-9880
Dr. Abdelhakin Bensaoula, Principal Investigator
Dr. J. Albert Schultz, Business Official
DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-99ER82808
Amount: $99,877
Diamond is one of the most popular materials for various field emission applications, including high energy electron and ion sources used in high energy physics, and has demonstrated superior characteristics in threshold electric field and current density. However, many practical applications of cold cathode emission, which is likely to replace hot filament emission in the near future, requires more oxidation-resistant materials. This requirement would be especially critical if an electron emitter were intended to work as an ionization source in low vacuum, such as with growth/process reactors or during environmental sampling operations. This project will fabricate boron nitride (BN) and carbon boron nitride (CBN) based cold cathodes to facilitate the development of rugged miniature ion sources with low power requirements and operation at pressures up to 0.1 Torr. In Phase I, BN and CBN structures will be grown, optimized, characterized, and evaluated for their field emission capabilities. Also, doping methods and materials stability will be investigated.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: Emitter structures that are impervious to operation in oxygen and hydrocarbon environments should lead to the straightforward commercialization of mass spectrometers, ion sources, and electron sources.