Preparation and noise analysis of polymer graphite cathode

The paper deals with the preparation and measurement of an experimental polymer graphite cathode that seems to be a promising and cheap source of electrons utilizing cold field-emission in high- and ultra-high vacuum. Polymer graphite seems to be a proper material as it contains a large amount of hybridized carbon with a low degree of surface oxidation and silicon monoxide (SiO). Within the frame of this work, a special experimental method of tip preparation has been designed and tuned. This method is based on ion milling inside a dual-beam electron microscope enabling to obtain ultra-sharp tips of a diameter smaller than 100 nm with a predefined opening angle. The charge transport within experimental samples is evaluated based on results provided by the noise spectroscopy of the total emission current in the time and frequency domains.