Synthesis and characterization of LaB6 thin films on tungsten, rhenium, silicon and other substrates and their investigations as field emitters

Abstract

The paper deals with the comparative study of nanocrystalline Lanthanum hexaboride (LaB6) thin films grown on various substrates by Pulsed laser deposition and Arc plasma method. Field emission studies were carried out on LaB6 films deposited on various substrates show metallic behavior of the emitters. The high value of field enhancement factors, indicating that the electron emission from LaB6 nanoscale protrusions deposited on emitter surface. The post field emission surface morphology of the emitters showed no significant erosion of the films during continuous operation. The observed behavior indicates that it is linked with the growth of LaB6 films on substrate crystal structure. The LaB6 nanocrystallites/nanowires films were synthesized using arc plasma method shows good emission current stability. The LaB6 micro/nanocrystallites were also obtained by picosecond laser irradiation which gives high enhancement β factor, and good emission current stability along with high current density. The results reveal that nanocrystalline LaB6 films, exhibit high resistance to ion bombardment and excellent structural stability and are more promising emitters for practical applications in field emission based new generation devices.