TEM and EELS Investigation of a-C and ta-C Coated Field Emitters

Published

October 1, 1997

Author(s)

Alline F. Myers, Eric B. Steel, M Q. Ding, S M. Camphausen, W B. Choi, J J. Cuomo, J J. Hren

Abstract

The microstructure of highly sp² bonded amorphous carbon (a-C) and partially tetrahedrally bonded amorphous carbon (ta-C) films deposited on needle-shaped Mo field emitters by pulsed laser ablation and cathodic arc deposition techniques was studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Undoped and nitrogen-doped films were included in this study. The undoped laser ablation films were around 50% sp² at the emitter tip and 65% sp² along the shank, while the N-doped laser ablation films were highly sp² bonded both at the tip and along the shank. The cathodic arc deposited films were also predominantly sp² bonded both at the tip and along the shank. The undoped and N-doped carbon films deposited by laser ablation both showed improved electron emission characteristics as compared to the same uncoated Mo needles.

Citation

Journal of the Materials Research Society

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

amorphous carbon, electron microscopy, energy loss spectroscopy, field emission, filtered cathodic arc, laser ablation

Citation

Myers, A. , Steel, E. , Ding, M. , Camphausen, S. , Choi, W. , Cuomo, J. and Hren, J. (1997), TEM and EELS Investigation of a-C and ta-C Coated Field Emitters, Journal of the Materials Research Society (Accessed April 19, 2024)