Abstract
Cone-shaped diamond-tip field electron emitter arrays (boron-doped synthetic single crystal diamond chip, (100) face, type Ib) were fabricated utilizing the SOG (spin-on glass) mask and oxygen reactive ion beam, and characterized. The tip radius of the fabricated diamond emitter arrays was less than 30 nm. The threshold electric field of 7.5 V/μm and the work function of 3.36 eV were obtained from the diamond-tip field emitter array. The experiments on the field emission of the diamond-tip field emitter array at the applied voltage of 1000 V for 400 min show that the field emission current increased gradually at 60 min. The mechanism of this phenomenon was investigated in atomic level by employing the first-priniples molecular-dynamics simulation method. The simulation results show that the mechanism of the phenomenon was not the movement of atoms of the diamond but the movement of atoms of the hydrocarbon deposited during the field emission.
