In order to study the mechanism of submicron-scale air gap discharge, the gas discharge experiment with electrode gap of 0.3–10 um was carried out by using nano-positioning system under atmospheric pressure. The breakdown voltages of stainless steel, brass, copper, and aluminum electrodes were measured. The experimental results are obviously deviated from the Paschen curve, and the Paschen curve cannot explain the air gap breakdown voltage. It is found that in the range of 0.3–5 um, the material work function significantly affects the air gap breakdown voltage, and it is not obvious in the range of 5–10 um. By studying the breakdown field strength, current density and F–N theory, it is found that when the electrode gap is 0.3–5 um, the field emission is dominant, resulting in the breakdown voltage deviating from the Paschen curve. In addition, the breakdown voltages under different discharge mechanisms are numerically calculated, and the numerical results are compared with the experimental results. The results show that only field emission needs to be considered at the gap of 0.3–2 um, and other discharge mechanisms can be ignored. Through the research of this paper, it provides a basis for the in-depth study of sub-micron electrical breakdown and the design of microelectronic devices.

中文翻译：

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亚微米级气隙击穿的实验研究与分析

为了研究亚微米级气隙放电机理，利用纳米定位系统在大气压下开展了电极间隙为0.3~10 um的气体放电实验。测量了不锈钢、黄铜、铜和铝电极的击穿电压。实验结果明显偏离帕邢曲线，帕邢曲线无法解释气隙击穿电压。研究发现，在0.3~5 um范围内，材料功函数对气隙击穿电压影响显着，在5~10 um范围内影响不明显。通过研究击穿场强、电流密度和F-N理论发现，当电极间隙为0.3~5 um时，场致发射占主导地位，导致击穿电压偏离帕邢曲线。此外，还对不同放电机制下的击穿电压进行了数值计算，并将数值结果与实验结果进行了比较。结果表明，在0.3~2 um间隙处，只需要考虑场致发射，其他放电机制可以忽略。通过本文的研究，为亚微米电击穿的深入研究和微电子器件的设计提供了基础。