MONTE-CARLO STUDY OF HOT-ELECTRON AND BALLISTIC TRANSPORT IN DIAMOND - LOW ELECTRIC-FIELD REGION

A Monte Carlo simulation of electron transport in the conduction band of diamond as a function of field and film thickness has been performe d. It predicts that the energy distribution of field emitted electrons ''heats up'' when the internal electric field is of the order of 1 V/ mu m and greater. The energy distribution shifts and becomes broader a s the width of the sample increases. With increasing field (greater th an or equal to 10 V/mu m), there is a transition to quasi-ballistic-li ke behavior. For thinner films (less than or equal to 0.1 mu m), the t ransport is more clearly ballistic with the peak energy scaling roughl y with the field. It is suggested that if a realistic and viable elect ron injection mechanism into the conduction band of a diamond-metal or diamond-semiconductor interface could be found for those crystal face s of diamond exhibiting negative electron affinity, then a copious col d cathode electron emitter with field tunable energies is feasible. (C ) 1996 American Vacuum Society.