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Scaleable Carbon Nanotube Field Emitters for Scanning Electron Beam Instruments--Xidex Corporation, 8906 Wall Street, Suite 105, Austin, TX 78754‑4542; 512‑339‑0608; www.xidex.com

Mr. Vladimir Mancevski, Principal Investigator, vam@xidex.com

Dr. Paul F. McClure, Business Official pfm@xidex.com

DOE Grant No. DE‑FG02‑06ER84408

Amount: $750,000

Scanning electron beam instruments are used in many industries, including the semiconductor industry and the emerging nanotechnology industry. Currently, there is a need for significant improvement in spatial resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, and processing speed. This project will demonstrate the utility of nano-sized, high-aspect-ratio, cylindrical, carbon-nanotube (CNT) field emitters for Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEMs) and Transmission Electron Microscopes (TEMs). Phase I developed and demonstrated optimal CNT emitter designs, demonstrated the feasibility of fabrication processes for manufacturing CNT emitters, and demonstrated achievement of key figures-of-merit for the proposed optimal CNT field emitters. The CNT emitters were evaluated in a modified commercial SEM, which was used to image a sample, thereby demonstrating proof-of-concept. In Phase II, commercial-grade carbon-nanotube-based field emitters will be designed, and a scaleable fabrication process will be demonstrated. Results will be confirmed by measuring key figures-of-merit of the CNT emitters and evaluating their use in a commercial scanning electron beam instrument.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The CNT emitter technology should directly benefit the ultra-high-resolution imaging of nanoscale structures for materials science biology, medical research, and forensics applications. The technology also may enable development of new multi-beam array tools needed for e-beam lithography, and could extend to miniaturization of e-beam columns.