The growth aspects of nanocrystalline diamond films and their effects on electron emissions

Author

Subramanian, K. ; Kang, W.P. ; Davidson, J.L. ; Hofmeister, W.H.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Comput. Sci., Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN, USA

fYear

2004

fDate

11-16 July 2004

Firstpage

82

Lastpage

83

Abstract

In this paper, aspects of the growth of nanocrystalline diamond films using CH₄/H₂/N₂ microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition and their behavior as electron field emission cathode were reported. Nanocrystalline diamond films with "cauliflower-like" morphology were investigated for field emission in vacuum. The presence of more sp²-bonded non-diamond carbon content and a higher electrical conductivity of the film enhanced the field emission characteristics were observed, while a reduction in the grain size of the diamond had no similar effect. For field emission characterization, nanodiamond films were grown using methane flow rate varying between 2 seem and 15 seem, with electrical resistance from 10 Ω to hundreds of MΩ, and grain size in the range of 5 nm to 200 nm were employed.

Keywords

diamond; electrical conductivity; electrical resistivity; electron field emission; grain size; nanostructured materials; plasma CVD; semiconductor thin films; 5 to 200 nm; C; cauliflower-like morphology; electrical conductivity; electrical resistance; electron field emission cathode; grain size; methane flow rate; microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition; nanocrystalline diamond films; sp²-bonded nondiamond carbon content; Carbon dioxide; Cathodes; Chemical vapor deposition; Conductive films; Conductivity; Diamond-like carbon; Electron emission; Grain size; Morphology; Plasma chemistry;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Vacuum Nanoelectronics Conference, 2004. IVNC 2004. Technical Digest of the 17th International

Print_ISBN

0-7803-8397-4

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IVNC.2004.1354909

Filename

1354909