Electron field emission properties of electro-deposited diamond-like carbon coatings

Field emission studies were carried out on diamond-like carbon films deposited by an electro-deposition technique onto SnO₂-coated glass substrates. A mixture of acetic acid and water was the electrolyte. The films are compact with surface roughness 10 nm. Work function (φ) values obtained from the Fowler–Nordheim model varied between 15 and 214 meV, while the field factor (β) varied between 4 and 700. The critical field was found to vary between 2 and 28 V/μm.