S. R. Antonov’s research while affiliated with St Petersburg University and other places

In this work, the main parameters of a holographic microscope are studied with the aim of optimizing them. The optimum positions for the monochromatic electron-beam source with respect to the subject of research and for the screen detecting the interference pattern (the distance is 100 nm and 10 cm, respectively) are determined. The limiting thickness of the thin film of the subject of study (30 Å) at which the interference pattern can be observed is estimated. The main parameters of the coordinate-sensitive detector providing signal gain up to 105 at the output are calculated.

A holographic microscope is intended for investigation and visual observation of nanoobjects that are thin metal films or macromolecules. A module providing for the experimental research of such objects has been designed and built. The optimal thickness of the metal films has been estimated. Software for processing the interference patterns with the aim of obtaining a holographic image of nanoobjects has been developed.

W-Cs3Sb, W-TiO2, and W-TiO2-Cs field emission cathodes are fabricated and studied. All these cathodes outperform the conventional tungsten cathode in emission properties: the emission current is very stable and one-and-a-half to two orders of magnitude higher. Physical models of the new emitters are suggested and experimentally verified.

A new field-emission cathode based on the W-Cs2Sb metal-semiconductor system is produced. The emission current of this cathode is one and one-half orders of magnitude higher than that of a tungsten cathode, and the FWHM of the energy spectrum is about 0.3 eV. An energy model of the given emitter is proposed. Using it, one can obtain theoretical values of the main cathode parameters which are in good agreement with the experimental ones.