Field emission studies on well adhered pulsed laser deposited LaB6 on W tip

Lanthanum hexaboride films have been deposited on a tungsten tip by pulsed laser deposition technique. The field emission studies have been performed in the conventional field emission geometry. The Fowler-Nordheim plot obtained from the current-voltage characteristic is found to be linear in accordance with the quantum mechanical tunneling phenomenon. A current density of 1.2x10(4) A/cm(2) is drawn from the deposited tip. The field enhancement factor is calculated to be 5537 cm(-1), indicating that the field emission is from nanoscale protrusions present on emitter surface. The emission current-time plots show the very good stability of the emitter. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.