Novel Diamond Devices

The extreme and unusual properties of diamond will enable novel devices including vacuum electron emission and quantum transport and optical properties. Depending on surface termination diamond surfaces can directly emit electrons into vacuum without an energy barrier. This property is enabled by a negative electron affinity (or NEA). Novel diamond PIN diodes can be designed and fabricated which efficiently emit electrons into vacuum. The research is focused on understanding the surface properties and diamond PIN device design that enables a compact, efficient cathode design that can be directly modulated.