Low temperature synthesis of diamond-based nano-carbon composite materials with high electron field emission properties

Abstract

A diamond-based nano-carbon composite (d/NCC) material, which contains needle-like diamond grains encased with the nano-graphite layers, was synthesized at low substrate temperature via a bias enhanced growth process using CH4/N2 plasma. Such a unique granular structure renders the d/NCC material very conductive (σ = 714.8 S/cm), along with superior electron field emission (EFE) properties (E0 = 4.06 V/μm and Je = 3.18 mA/cm2) and long lifetime (τ = 842 min at 2.41 mA/cm2). Moreover, the electrical conductivity and EFE behavior of d/NCC material can be tuned in a wide range that is especially useful for different kind of applications.