  With the demand for improved performance in microfabricated devices, the
necessity to apply greater electric fields and voltages becomes evident. When
operating in vacuum, the voltage is typically limited by surface flashover
forming along the surface of a dielectric. By modifying the fabrication process
we have discovered it is possible to more than double the flashover voltage.
Our finding has significant impact on the realization of next-generation micro-
and nano-fabricated devices and for the fabrication of on-chip ion trap arrays
for the realization of scalable ion quantum technology.
