Results are reported on the electron field emission properties of sulfur-in
corporated nanocrystalline carbon (n-C:S) thin films grown by hot-filament
chemical vapor deposition technique. The lowest turn-on field values observ
ed were around 4.0-4.5 V/mum, which are about half of those measured for fi
lms grown without sulfur. Associated to the effect of addition of sulfur on
field emission properties, there are interesting microstructural changes,
as characterized with scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy
, and Raman spectroscopy techniques. The sulfur-incorporated films show smo
other and finer-grained surfaces than those grown without sulfur. These res
ults are similar to those found for the introduction of nitrogen, but diffe
rent to those produced by oxygen addition to the chemical vapor deposition
process. These findings are attributed to changes in the electronic band st
ructure. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.