Field emitter arrays made of ion beam modified photoresist

The field emission from Ar ion irradiated photoresist material is demonstrated. A photoresist of novolac-type positive-tone is used as the test material. The electrical resistivity of the photoresist film is found to decrease after Ar ion implantation at doses on the order of 10¹⁶ cm^-2. Raman spectroscopy shows that carbon-carbon bonds such as the graphite bond are produced due to ion bombardment. The field emission is tested by preparing a pyramid-like structured photoresist using oxygen-plasma etching. Electron emission of the order of 10^-6 A is observed for implanted samples, while no emission is detected from unimplanted samples. Fabrication of field emitter arrays with photoresist emitter using a Si mold technique is demonstrated.