Study on improved electron emission characteristics of micropatterned diamond-like carbon films

Abstract

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films have been grown on silicon substrates by pulsed Nd-YAG laser ablation using an oscillating graphite target. Excellent field-emission characteristics of the DLC films micropatterned in 0.5 mu m spacing were obtained. When the columnar DLC structure was tested in a vertical direction, high area density of emission sites and good field-emission uniformity were observed. These findings indicate that the patterned and particle-filtered DLC film has a high potential as a cold cathode electron source for field-emission display. Also, the field-emission characteristics and electrical resistivity of the DLC film after annealing at high temperature is discussed together with the analysis of Raman spectroscopy. (C) 1999 American Vacuum Society. [S0734-211X(99)09302-6].