Tunable Electron Emission From Back-Gated SiO_x Tunneling Diodes for Addressable Devices

Tunable electron emission from microemitters is highly desired for large-scale addressable vacuum devices. Here, we report tunable electron emission from both a single back-gated silicon tunneling diode (STD) and parallel back-gated STD arrays. Emission current of a back-gated STD emitter can be repeatedly tuned by six orders of magnitude with a subthreshold slope (SS) of 2.5 V/dec and negligible gate leakage current. The tunability of electron emission from STDs is mainly attributed to the bending of the energy band of STDs by the back gate. These results suggest that back-gated STDs are promising for applications in large-scale addressable vacuum devices.