Recrystallization of tungsten wire for fabrication of sharp and stable nanoprobe and field-emitter tips.
Atomically sharp tungsten tips made from single crystal tungsten wire are superior to those made from cold-drawn polycrystalline wire but are rarely used due to their high price. We have devised a method of obtaining highly crystalline tungsten wire by recrystallizing cold-drawn wire. The effect of various heat treatments on the wire microstructure was observed using scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. A dramatic difference in the shapes of tips etched from cold-drawn and recrystallized wires was observed using transmission electron microscopy. The described annealing process is an inexpensive alternative to using single crystal wires.
Greiner
M
M
Department of Chemistry, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4M1, Canada.
Kruse
P
P