THEORETICAL-STUDY OF FIELD-EMISSION FROM DIAMOND

The electron field emission from diamond surfaces is investigated theo retically using a model consisting of the projection of the energy ban d surfaces in the [111], [110], and [100] emission directions. The eff ect of the negative electron affinity, the band bending, the image int eraction, and surface states is examined in detail. It is found that t he conventional theory of electron field emission applied to crystalli ne diamond cannot explain the measured high-current emission at low fi elds. We postulate two subbands in the intrinsic band gap, which may b e generated by defects or impurities. With reasonable band parameters, the calculated I-V characteristics agree with experimental data. (C) 1994 American Institute of Physics.