Field electron emission from diamond-like carbon films

A comparative study of field electron emission properties of different diamond-like carbon films is reported. The films were produced by ion beam, laser-are, r.f.-plasma depositions and magnetron sputtering on silicon and metallic substrates. Electron emission at fields as low as 4-8 V/mu m was observed for some of the samples. The emission current versus applied field behavior, current time stability and surface homogeneity of emission properties were studied in dependence of film structure, composition, thickness and conductivity. Correlations between emission properties and film hardness, optical band gap, sp3-bonded carbon content were found, and factors which improve the field electron emission from DLC films were discussed. Raman spectroscopy, deep-level transient charge spectroscopy, photoelectrical and electroconductivity methods were used to characterize surface and bulk electronic properties of samples.