On the possibility of emitter temperature estimation from the field-electron-emission energy distribution measurements

A new method is proposed for estimation of the field emitter tip temperature. The principle of this method is based on the high-energy (Boltzmann) tail measurement of the electron energy distribution. It is shown from theoretical considerations, that the slope of the high-energy tail can be used as a simple measure of the emitter tip temperature; the relation between the tip temperature and tail slope is derived. From the experimental point of view, the method utilises the energy distribution measured with a probe-hole technique. Moreover, the electric field strength and work-function of the studied emitter region have to be measured simultaneously in a complementary procedure. This means that the well established Young and Clark procedure can be extended to the emitter temperature measurement. The influence of the energy analyser transmission function on the emitter temperature measurement is also discussed.