Effect of non-diamond carbon etching on the field emission property of highly sp2 bonded nanocrystalline diamond films

The effect of the non-diamond carbon etching on the electron field emission behavior of highly sp(2) bonded nanocrystalline diamond films has been systematically investigated by performing hydrogen treatments. Field emission properties and emission patterns of the films are initially enhanced and then degraded with an increase in the hydrogen treatment time. The most uniform distribution of the emission site is obtained for a 1-min hydrogen-treated film, and the reason for this is explained in terms of the increase of triple junction site due to etching of the sp(2) bonded carbon by atomic hydrogen. On the other hand, the degraded emission property of the films treated for more than 10 min is due to the decrease of triple junction, which is indirectly confirmed by Raman and Anger electron spectroscopy. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.