Field Electron Emission from Carbon Nanotube Films on Diamond Films

Abstract

The field electron emission from carbon nanotube films on polycrystalline diamond films was investigated. The carbon nanotubes and diamond films on Si substrates were prepared by a conventional hot filament chemical vapour deposition. The films obtained were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The field emission properties of the samples were measured in an ion-pumped vacuum chamber at a pressure of 10-6 Pa.. The experimental results showed that the field emission behaviours of carbon nanotubes/diomond films structure have greatly been improved as compared with carbon nanotubes and diamond films, respectively. A turn-on field of 1.0 V/µm and a maximum current of 500 µA at 1.5 V/µm were observed, which were lower than those of carbon nanotubes and polycrystalline diamond films, respectively. This improvement was attributed to the tip shape of sample surface, which provided an additional local increase in electric field at the tube ends.