Noise characteristics of emission current from conductive diamond-like carbon thin films coating on cone shaped silicon field emitters

Electron emission properties and noise characteristics of emission current from the conductive diamond-like carbon (DLC) thin films, coated on cone sh aped Si field emitters, were investigated. The effective work function of t he emitters coated by DLC thin films was found to decrease as the conductiv ity of the DLC film increases. To coat the DLC film, the emission current f luctuation is decreased, but the fluctuation is not influenced by the condu ctivity of the DLC film. Flicker noise of the field emission current from t hese emitters was analyzed using fast Fourier transform. It was found that the noise power density of the DLC coated emitters is about 10 dB lower tha n that of Si field emitters and the Bicker noise of the DLC coated field em itters is not influenced by the ambient pressure. (C) 2000 American Vacuum Society. [S0734-211X(00)05202-1].