Choice of boron-carbon-nitrogen coating material for electron emission based on photoelectric yield measurements during x-ray absorption studies

Boron-carbon-nitrogen films with different composition and bonding structur es are grown by ion-beam-assisted deposition. The photoelectric yield from these films is used to characterize their potential use as coatings to enha nce electron emission. As excitation light we used soft x rays in the cours e of x ray absorption experiments. In this way, we combine a detailed chemi cal and compositional characterization of the films with their photoelectri c yield. Our results indicate that the main parameter affecting the electro n emission is the proportion of sp(3) hybrids in the film. (C) 2001 America n Vacuum Society.