Fabrication of self-aligned gated silicon microtip array using electrochemical silicon etching

In this paper we report a new approach to fabricate gated silicon microtip arrays for field emission applications using a single mask process. The key role in the fabrication process is played by the photoelectrochemical etching of silicon in HF-based electrolytes. This technique is here exploited to produce highly uniform silicon microtip arrays. The fabrication process is detailed and the dependence of the tip geometry on the electrochemical etching parameters is discussed.