Integration of a dose control circuit with a vertically aligned nanofiber field emission device

This article presents the integration of a dose control circuit (DCC) with vertically aligned carbon nanofiber (VACNF) field emission devices through a voltage boost up interface circuit for the implementation of the digital electrostatically focused e-beam array direct-write lithography concept. The VACNFs act as diodes with high turn on voltage (similar to 70 V). Commercially available complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology is not capable of handling such magnitude of voltages. The voltage boost up interface circuit described in this article offers an efficient technique to shift the voltage level to a level adequate to start the emission of electron from the tips of the VACNFs. The integration of the DCC with the VACNF emitters via a voltage boost up interface circuit presented in this article facilitates the operation of the VACNFs for etching in maskless lithography while providing precise control of emission. (c) 2007 American Vacuum Society.