Abstract
In this work, tetrahedral diamond-like carbon (DLC) films are deposited on Si, Ti/Si and Au/Si substrates by a new plasma deposition technique — filtered arc deposition (FAD). Their electron field emission characteristics and fluorescent displays of the films are tested using a diode structure. It is shown that the substrate can markedly influence the emission behavior of DLC films. An emission current of 0.1
μA is detected at electric field
E
DLC/Si=5.6
V/μm,
E
DLC/Au/Si=14.3
V/μm, and
E
DLC/Ti/Si=5.2
V/μm, respectively. At 14.3
V/μm, an emission current density
J
DLC/Si=15.2
μA/cm
2,
J
DLC/Au/Si=0.4
μA/cm
2, and
J
DLC/Ti/Si=175
μA/cm
2 is achieved, respectively. It is believed that a thin TiC transition layer exists in the interface between the DLC film and Ti/Si substrate.