Abstract
A 300-nm-thick diamondlike carbon (DLC) film was deposited on to a heavily doped n-type Si (111) wafer by filtered arc deposition. A flat thin film cylindrical emitter array was then fabricated by reactive-ion etching the DLC film. Its electron field emission properties were studied using a simple diode structure. A field emission current of 0.1 μA was detected under an electric field of 5.2 V/μm. As large as 64.1 mA/cm2 of field emission current density was achieved after an activation process under a 39 V/μm field. An image formed on the anode screen showed that electron field emission from the DLC flat emitter array is rather uniform. The field emission behavior is also consistent with Fowler–Nordheim theory. Hydrogen plasma surface treatments were found to enhance the field emission properties.