Field emission from amorphous carbon and silicon-carbon films, prepared by VHF CVD

The aim of this work was to study field emission from carbon and silicon-carbon films prepared by Very High Frequency Chemical Vapour Deposition (VHF CVD). The films were prepared by capacitive discharge at a frequency f=58 MHz from argon-methane, hexane, hexane-hydrogen and hexane-silane-hydrogen mixtures on substrates of silicon, quartz and titanium-coated ceramics at temperatures of 200-250/spl deg/C. The films were characterised by AFM, Raman spectroscopy and conductivity measurements. Field electron emission was measured for an anode-to-cathode distance of 40 micron. Scanning secondary electron emission microscopy (SSEEM) measurements over sample area were performed before and after field emission measurements.