New Type of the Electron Emission Induced by the Electric Field

Abstract

A new type of the electron emission induced by a pulsed electric field with a strength of about 105 V/cm applied to the cathode made of graphene-like structures has been found. Pulsed currents of up to several hundred amperes have been obtained in a range of 1–5 ns. It has been found that the length of the current pulse depends on the strength of the electric field and decreases with an increase in this strength at a constant length of the electric field pulse; the electron emission time as well as the maximum emission current are determined by the value of the bound charge in the region of the cathode surface; and the process relaxation time after extraction of the emission current exceeds 300 ns.