Abstract: A field emission device (100) uses single crystals in order to eliminate grain boundaries within some or all of the electrodes (103, 104, and 205). The elimination of grain boundaries reduces susceptibility to damage, improves stability of the device (100), and improves uniformity and reproducibility among devices. In a preferred embodiment, the emitter and gate electrodes (103 and 104 respectively) are formed from a single crystal thin film (302). In other embodiments, other structures are employed wherein one or more of the electrodes (103, 104, and 205) are formed from single crystals.