Abstract
•Extraction of physical parameters of the field electron emitters.•Murphy-Good plot and a conventional Fowler-Nordheim plot iterative method.•Extracted of the notional (actual) emission area and the field conversion length.
The significance of the Fowler-Nordheim-type plots lies in the possibility of extracting useful and reliable physical parameters of the field electron emitters. This is achieved by the parameter's extraction methods. We report on the application of two parameters extraction methods on field emission data from bundles of carbon fibers (CFs) grouped in nickel tubes and operated inside a typical field emission microscope setup. These methods are the Murphy-Good plot and the conventional Fowler-Nordheim plot iterative method. The physical parameters include the area extraction parameter, the notional (actual) emission area, the formal area efficiency factor and the voltage conversion length. The results obtained from the two methods are discussed and compared to shed light on the controversial nature of these methods. The mechanism of field electron emission is analyzed based on the parameters extracted.