Field Emission Characteristics of Deffctive Diamond Films

The field emission characteristics of defective diamond films grown by microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MPECVD) have been studied. X-ray diffraction, the poor crystal quality and/or small grain sizes of the diamond phase and the inclusion of the non-diamond carbon phases in these films have been condirmed by raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and the reflectance measurements. The degrees of the film defectiveness and the emission characteristics were dependent on the methane concentration. Current-versus-voltage measurements have demonstrated that the defective diamond films have good electron emission characteristics. characteristics strongly suggests the defect-related electron-emission mechanism. The defective diamond films deposited on Si substrates show the field emission current density of 1$\mu\textrm{A}/\textrm{cm}^2$ and 1mA/$\textrm{cm}^2$ have been measured at electric fields as low as 4.5V/$\mu\textrm{m}$ and 7.6V/$\mu\textrm{m}$, respectively. We also observed the similar emission characteristics from the defective diamond film deposited on Cr/Si substrate and could decrease the deposition temperature to $600^{\circ}C$.