Comment on slope of nonlinear FN plot and field enhancement factor

Abstract

It is common practice to extract field enhancement factor from the slope of FN plot. Many experimentalists working on field electron emission had reported multi-(linear segment) FN plots, which can be divided into several (usually two) linear segments. Then multi-(field enhancement factor) were extracted from the FN plot. They claimed that the field enhancement factor increases with applied field if the FN plot bends downward (vice versus if the FN plot bends upward). We show that this is contrary to fact.