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Author(s) |
Late, D. J.; Singh, V. R.; Sinha, S.; More, M. A.; Dasgupta, K.; Joag, D. S.
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Micro/nano structures have been obtained by
laser surface treatment on sintered LaB6 pellets
employing a picosecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser at a pressure of
~1 × 10−3 mbar. The X-ray
diffraction pattern of the laser treated pellet shows a set of
well defined diffraction peaks, indexed to the cubic phase of
LaB6 only. The scanning electron microscope studies
reveal formation of micro and nano structures upon laser
treatment and the resultant surface morphology is found to be
strongly influenced by the laser fluence. Field electron
emission studies made on the LaB6 pellet, treated
with optimized laser fluence, have been performed in a planar
diode configuration under ultra high vacuum conditions. The
threshold field required to draw an emission current density of
~10 μA/cm2 has been found
to be ~2.3 V/μm and a current density
of ~530 μA/cm2 has been
drawn at an applied field of 5.2 V/μm. The Fowler- Nordheim plot
is found to be linear in accordance with the quantum mechanical
tunneling phenomenon, confirming the metallic nature of the
emitter. The emission current at the pre-set value
~10 μA shows very good stability over
a period of more than 3 hours. The present results emphasize the
effectiveness of a picosecond laser treatment towards
fabrication of a nano metric LaB6 emitter for high
current density applications.
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