A comparison study of field assisted electron emission from nanocluster carbon films grown using a continuous and a pulsed cathodic arc process

Field emission from nanoclustered carbon films grown using pulsed cathodic arc process is presented and compared with carbon films grown using continuous cathodic arc process. The samples exhibit relatively low field electron emission. However, films grown using pulsed arc process show slightly higher emission threshold compared to those grown using continuous cathodic arc process. This may be attributed to the difference in the energy kinetics of the arc initiation process. Raman measurements also show that films grown using continuous arc have better clusters and less amorphous phase leading to relatively more distinct G and D peaks compared to the broader G peak and shoulder indicating the D peak observed for films grown using a trigger less pulsed arc.