Abstract
The use of field emitters in conventional vacuum devices has been retarded by the technological difficulties associated with the manufacture of reproducible points having a long life. In this paper the construction and performance of emitters from single crystals of lanthanum hexaboride are described and discussed. The results indicate that these emitters are capable of a significantly better performance than other known emitters, and can operate at current densities exceeding 105 A/cm2 for many hundred hours at residual-gas pressures of 10−9 torr.

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