The effect of film resistance on electron field emission from amorphous carbon films

The effects of film resistance on the electron field emission properties of carbon films were systematically investigated by combining electron emissi on and DC current-voltage (I-V) measurements. The field emission follows th e Fowler-Nordheim law at lower fields. However, at high fields the emission current becomes limited by the resistance of the carbon him and deviates f rom the Fowler-Nordheim law. Using the emission I-V curves in this range, t he carbon film resistance was estimated, and this agrees well with the resi stance derived from the DC I-V curve. It is also shown how the film resista nce can be used to effectively control the emission current across a wide r ange of applied voltage. This concept can be extended to confining the emis sion current for each emission site, hence achieving more uniform emission current over a large emission area. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All righ ts reserved.