Field emission and nanostructure of carbon films

V. I. Merkulov, D. H. Lowndes, L. R. Baylor

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

The results of field emission measurements of various forms of carbon films are reported. It is shown that the films' nanostructure is a crucial factor determining the field emission properties. In particular, smooth, pulsed-laser deposited amorphous carbon films with both high and low sp3 contents are poor field emitters. This is similar to the results obtained for smooth nanocrystalline, sp2- bonded carbon films. In contrast, carbon films prepared by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition (HF-CVD) exhibit very good field emission properties, including low emission turn-on fields, high emission site density, and excellent durability. HF-CVD carbon films were found to be predominantly sp2-bonded. However, surface morphology studies show that these films are thoroughly nanostructured, which is believed to be responsible for their promising field emission properties.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)221-226
Number of pages6
JournalMaterials Research Society Symposium - Proceedings
Volume593
StatePublished - 2000
EventSymposium-Amorphous and Nanoestructured Carbon - Boston, MA, USA
Duration: Nov 29 1999Dec 2 1999

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Field emission and nanostructure of carbon films'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this