Abstract
Enhanced field emission is observed from micropatterned pyramidal diamond tips fabricated with CH 4/H 2/N 2-deposited nanodiamond. Nanodiamond films with grain size as small as ∼ 5 nm from the process with CH 4/H 2/N 2 MPECVD and ∼ 20 nm from CH 4/H 2 MPECVD were formed by employing a growth-rate control technique. The nanodiamond films grown by the 2 different gas chemistries were applied individually in the fabrication of micropatterned pyramidal diamond tip arrays through a mold transfer technique and characterized for field emission. The CH 4/H 2 nanodiamond tips showed a turn-on field of ∼ 14 V/μm; the CH 4/H 2/N 2-nanodiamond tips exhibited significantly enhanced field emission characteristics with a low threshold field of 1.6 V/μm (electric field reduction > 80%) and a high emission current of 19 mA at 6 V/μm. The improved field emission behavior of the CH 4/H 2/N 2-nanodiamond tip array is attributed to its better geometrical enhancement factor ( β g = 32,000), increased sp 2-carbon content and higher electrical conductivity by incorporation of nitrogen impurity in the diamond. The emission characteristics obtained from the nitrogen-incorporated nanodiamond imply a useful candidate for cold field emission cathodes.
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