Electron emission properties of Si field emitter arrays coated with nanocrystalline diamond from fullerene precursors

Contributors:   T.G. McCauley, T.D. Corrigan, A.R. Krauss, O. Auciello, D. Zhou, D.M. Gruen, D. Temple, R.P.H. Chang, S. English, and Robert J. Nemanich

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we report on a substantial lowering of the threshold field for electron field emission from Si field emitter arrays (FEA), which have been coated with a thin layer of nanocrystalline diamond by microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) from fullerene (C60) and methane (CH4) precursors. The field emission characteristics were investigated and the emission sites imaged using photoelectron emission microscopy (PEEM). Electron emission from these Si FEAs coated with nanocrystalline diamond was observed at threshold fields as low as 3 V/μm, with effective work functions as low as 0.59 eV.

Publisher: Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings,   Volume: 498,   227-232 ||  Published: 1997-12 ||   PDF (1.91 MB) ||   Read more...