Dimensional Quantization and the Resonance Concept of the Low-Threshold Field Emission

We present a brief critical review of modern theoretical interpretations of the low-threshold field emission phenomenon for metallic electrodes covered with carbon structures, taking the latest experiments into consideration, and confirming the continuity of spectrum of resonance states localized on the interface of the metallic body of the cathode and the carbon cover. Our proposal allowed us to interpret the double maxima of the emitted electron’s distribution on full energy. The theoretical interpretation is presented in a previous paper which describes the (1 + 1) model of a periodic 1D continuous interface. The overlapping of the double maxima may be interpreted taking into account a 2D superlattice periodic structure of the metal-vacuum interface, while the energy of emitted electrons lies on the overlapping spectral gaps of the interface 2D periodic lattice.