Open AccessFurther studies in the emission of electrons from cold metals
Author(s) -
Tomer Stern,
B.S. Gossling,
Ralph Howard Fowler
Publication year - 1929
Publication title -
proceedings of the royal society of london. series a, containing papers of a mathematical and physical character
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-9150
pISSN - 0950-1207
DOI - 10.1098/rspa.1929.0147
Subject(s) - electron , thermionic emission , work function , atomic physics , field electron emission , fermi energy , cathode , physics , current density , formula unit , charge density , condensed matter physics , chemistry , electrode , quantum mechanics , crystallography , crystal structure
Fowler and Nordheimj- and Oppenheimerj have already independently studied the theory of the emission of electrons from cold metals under the effect of an intense electric field, and have obtained results in good qualitative agreement with experiment. The formula for this “ auto-electronic ” current density, —I, obtained by the former authors is I = ε/2πh μ 1/2 / (X +μ )X 1/2 F2 e -4/3kX 3/2 / F(1) at ordinary temperatures. In this formulak 2 = 8π 2 m/h 2 ;μ is the parameter of the metallic electron distribution in the Fermi-Dirac statistics;X is the thermionic work function for the metal; — ε is the charge on the electron;h is Planck’s constant and — F is the derivative of the potential energy of the electron along the outward normal at the cathode surface; I, F and ε are then all positive. When the unit of energy is the electron-volt and the unit of current density is amperes per square centimetre this reduces to I = 6.2 x 10-6 μ 1/2 / (X +μ )X 1/2 F2 e -6.8 x 107 X 3/2 / F(2)