Abstract
Nickel containing amorphous carbon (a-C:Ni) films have been deposited by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) technique by introducing pure nickel into the graphite target. The field electron emission property of a-C:Ni was improved when compared to that of pure tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) by FCVA. The emission threshold field of a-C:Ni film is about 5 V μm -1 , whilst the threshold field of the ta-C film is about 13 V μm -1 . Raman spectroscopy suggests that the sp 2 clusters in the carbon film increase both in size and number when Ni is introduced. However, the emission was found to degrade to threshold fields beyond 20 V μm -1 after the a-C:Ni film was left in ambient for a week. This observation is attributed to surface absorption of oxygen on the a-C:Ni film, as determined by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 185-190 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Applied Surface Science |
| Volume | 180 |
| Issue number | 3-4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 16 Aug 2001 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Amorphous carbon (ta-C)
- Indium-tin-oxide (ITO)
- Tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C)