ULTRALOW-VOLTAGE BORON-DOPED DIAMOND FIELD EMITTER VACUUM DIODE

A boron-doped diamond held emitter diode with ultralow turn-on voltage and high emission current is reported. The diamond field emitter diod e structure with a built-in cap was fabricated using molds and electro static bonding techniques. The emission current versus anode voltage o f the capped diamond emitter diode with boron doping, sp(2) content, a nd vacuum thermal electric (VTE) treatment shows a very low turn-on vo ltage of 2 V, A high emission current of 1 mu A at an anode voltage of less than 10 V can be obtained from a single diamond tip. The turn-on voltage is significantly lower than comparable silicon held emitters.