Properties and stability of single-atom field emitters

We have successfully produced single-atom W , HfC , and ZrC tips using the field-induced buildup technique. The cold field emission characteristics of these tips were studied with particular emphasis on the emission stability and the energy distribution of the emitted electrons. W tips were the least stable. Reaction with acetylene improved the emission stability for all these tips. We observed multiple peaks in the energy distributions of emitted electrons from single-atom HfC and ZrC tips. The separations between the peaks are in the order of half electron volt. Possible origin of the multiple peaks is discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Energy distributions of field emitted electrons from carbide tips and tungsten tips with diamondlike carbon coatings

We have measured the energy distributions of electrons held emitted from tungsten carbide, HfC[100], and ZrC[100] tips, and tungsten held emitters with diamondlike carbon coatings. Multiple-peaked energy distributions were observed from instability induced emission sites on the carbide tips. Energy distributions of electrons field emitted from the diamondlike carbon coated tungsten tips were broader than those from metal tips. They also showed a shift towards lower energies with increases in the emission current. (C) 1996 American Vacuum Society

Single-Mode to Multi-Mode Crossover in Thin-Load Polymethyl Methacrylate Plasmonic Waveguides

Mode character and mode dispersion of sub-60-nm-thick polymethyl methacrylate dielectric-loaded surface plasmon-polariton waveguides (DLSPPWs) are investigated using photoemission electron microscopy and finite element method simulations. Experiment and simulation show excellent agreement and allow identifying a crossover from single-mode to multi-mode waveguiding as a function of excitation wavelength λ and DLSSPW cross section. Experiment and simulations yield, furthermore, indications for the formation of a surface plasmon-polariton cavity mode in the close vicinity of the waveguides