Coherent Monolayer Field Emission Sources – COMODES

The goal of the COMODES project is to realize a new type of coherent electron source in vacuum for electron microscopy, lithography and spectroscopy. We aim at an improvement of monochromaticity by a factor of at least 10, compared to commercial field emission sources, as well as a better current stability and noise reduction. This evolution of electron sources will be made possible by the fabrication of a very low loss electron cavity. To this end, our project will focus on achieving better monolayer control near the interface between a conventional emitter and single molecules, self-assembled monolayers of thiols or transition metal dichalcogenide layers. This challenge, comparable to the realization of the LASER for light sources, will be taken up by four partners (ILM, IEMN, C2N, CEA) covering all the required expertise in nano-object field emission, monolayer synthesis and fabrication, and electronic transport modeling at the nanoscale.