Mechanism and features of field emission in semiconductors

The field electron emission from individual grains on the surface of Si and III–V semiconductors, namely, gallium arsenide, indium arsenide, and indium antimonide is investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy. From the correspondence of the functional dependence of the I – V characteristic to the theory, the emission mechanism is determined as direct tunneling through a depleted or enriched subsurface layer at the voltages $V<$ 1 V and the tunneling emission from the surface electronic states at the voltages $V>$ 1 V. A field-emission threshold of (1–5) $\times$ 10$^6$ V/cm is obtained, which is significantly lower than the values for metals and carbon. The determining factors of this emission mechanism are the Schottky effect, the localization and size quantization of “light” electrons in the surface area of III–V semiconductors, and the presence of a subsurface depletion layer in silicon. According to the data obtained for the values of the field-emission threshold, indium antimonide in the form of submicron grain particles is the most efficient field emitter.