SILICON FIELD EMITTERS COATED WITH DIAMOND-LIKE CARBON

We have coated the silicon field emission tips with diamond-like carbo n (DLC). The array of tips was made of n-type silicon using convention al dry etch. Before DLC coating, the tips were bombarded with argon io n to clean the surface. We found that this bombardment improved the as pect ratio of the tips and the DLC adhesion to the silicon tips. The D LC film was coated using radio frequency plasma assisted-CVD using C6H 6 gas. Initially, the end of the tips was coated with ball-shape DLC. The current-voltage curve was measured in 10(-6) Torr pressure. The DL C-coated tips emitted current at lower onset voltage than as-prepared silicon tips.