Electron Emission of Graphene-Diamond Hybrid Films Using Paraffin Wax as Diamond Seeding Source

Abstract

We present a scalable, reproducible and economic process for the fabrication of diamond and diamond-graphene hybrid films using paraffin wax as a seeding source for diamond. The films were characterized using Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Raman spectra show the characteristic band of diamond at 1332 cm-1 and the D, G, and 2D bands of graphene at 1360, 1582 and 2709 cm-1, respectively. Electron microscopy confirms the microcrystalline nature of the diamond films with crystal size in the range of 0.5 μm to 1.0 μm, and the hybrid film consists of microcrystalline diamond attached to thin, semi-transparent graphene flakes. The graphene-diamond hybrid films exhibit a turn-on field of about 3.6 V/μm with a prolonged current stability of at least 135 h.