Electron field emission of iron and cobalt-doped DLC films fabricated by electrochemical deposition

Using a simple electrochemical depositing process, iron and cobalt-doped diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited on Si (100) substrates. The results showed that metallic elements were inhomogeneously doped into highly cross-linking amorphous carbon matrix, forming the typical nanocrystalline/amorphous nanocomposite structure, and simultaneously the microsturcture of amorphous carbon was changed by the doping of metals. Field emission performance showed that the incorporation of iron and cobalt effectively decreases the threshold field from 13.5V/mu m to 8.0V/mu m and 6.5V/mu m, respectively, and a highest current density of the Co-DLC film was about 1.2mA/cm(2) at the electric field of 23.5V/mu m. Copyright (C) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.