Field-emission sites on unpolished stainless steel

Abstract

An electron-beam tracking technique has been used to locate the sources of field-emitted electrons for subsequent in situ examination with a scanning electron microscope. The electrical characteristics of individual emitters were measured and used to estimate their physical size assuming simple geometric models. Micrographs of two of the locations are shown both before and after the application of an electric field sufficiently large to destroy the emission source.