Electron field emission from diamond-like carbon films deposited by electrolysis of methanol liquid

Electron field emission has been studied with diamond-like carbon (DLC) fil ms deposited from a liquid phase. The DLC films were deposited on Si substr ate by electrolysis of methanol liquid. The field emission measurements wer e carried out with a parallel plate configuration using the deposited DLC f ilms on Si substrate as a cathode, and an indium tin oxide (ITO) coated gla ss plate as an anode. We found several bright spots on a luminescent screen mounted on the ITO anode, indicating that the electrons are emitted from t he isolated emission sites on the deposited DLC film. The emission current density is more than 10(-7) A/cm(2) at the electric field as low as 1.2 V/m u m. This result suggests that the DLC film deposited from the liquid phase has a potential advantage for field emitter applications. (C) 1999 America n Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(99)05541-2].