On low-field electron emission mechanisms

It is established by direct experiments that the main component of the stationary field-emission current in fields E<10⁵ V/cm is due to piezogeometric intensification (by a factor of 10³) of the electricfield at the end faces of piezoelectrically active films. An emission mechanism governed by electrons supplied by tunneling from the valence band of the piezoelectric is proposed. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 11, 823–827 (10 June 1997)