Unique electrical properties of nanostructured diamond cones

The preparation and electrical properties of diamond nanocones are reviewed, including a maskless etching process and mechanism of large-area diamond conical nanostructure arrays using a hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) system with negatively biased substrates, and the field electron emission, gas sensing, and quantum transport properties of a diamond nanocone array or an individual diamond nanocone. Optimal cone aspect ratio and array density are investigated, along with the relationships between the cone morphologies and experimental parameters, such as the CH4/H2 ratio of the etching gas, the bias current, and the gas pressure. The reviewed experiments demonstrate the possibility of using nanostructured diamond cones as a display device element, a point electron emission source, a gas sensor or a quantum device.