Microstructure and its effect on field electron emission of grain-size-controlled nanocrystalline diamond films Ultrananocrystalline diamond ͑UNCD͒ films 0.1-2.4 m thick were conformally deposited on sharp single Si microtip emitters, using microwave CH 4 -Ar plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition in combination with a dielectrophoretic seeding process. Field-emission studies exhibited stable, extremely high ͑60-100 A/tip͒ emission current, with little variation in threshold fields as a function of film thickness or Si tip radius. The electron emission properties of high aspect ratio Si microtips, coated with diamond using the hot filament chemical vapor deposition ͑HFCVD͒ process were found to be very different from those of the UNCD-coated tips. For the HFCVD process, there is a strong dependence of the emission threshold on both the diamond coating thickness and Si tip radius. Quantum photoyield measurements of the UNCD films revealed that these films have an enhanced density of states within the bulk diamond band gap that is correlated with a reduction in the threshold field for electron emission. In addition, scanning tunneling microscopy studies indicate that the emission sites from UNCD films are related to minima or inflection points in the surface topography, and not to surface asperities. These data, in conjunction with tight binding pseudopotential calculations, indicate that grain boundaries play a critical role in the electron emission properties of UNCD films, such that these boundaries: ͑a͒ provide a conducting path from the substrate to the diamond-vacuum interface, ͑b͒ produce a geometric enhancement in the local electric field via internal structures, rather than surface topography, and ͑c͒ produce an enhancement in the local density of states within the bulk diamond band gap.
Ivanov tch i Oriented crystall1zatlon on a.orphous substrates I E.r. Glvarglzov. p. e•. --lMlcrodevlces.l Translat ion fra. the Russlan. Includes blbllographleal references and lndex. 1. Ss.lconductor films . 2. Crystals--Growth . 3 . Amorphaus substaness . I . Tltle . 11 . Serles .
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.