Field emission from modified nanocomposite carbon films prepared by filtered cathodic vacuum arc at high negative pulsed bias

Abstract Cobalt-containing amorphous carbon (a-C:Co) composite films have been prepared by filtered cathodic vacuum arc at high negative pulsed bias voltage. After heat treatment at 580 °C in a mixture of acetylene and hydrogen gases, field emission properties of the a-C:Co films were significantly improved and the films deposited at higher negative bias voltage possessed better field emission properties. A relatively low threshold field of 2.1 V/μm (for emission current 1 μA/cm2) and a high emission current density of 2 mA/cm2 at the electric field of 6 V/μm has been achieved for the films deposited at the negative bias voltage of 7 kV. The morphologies and structures of the a-C:Co films were also studied in detail. It is suggested that the employed negative bias voltage increases the grain size and the sp2 content in the films, and further improves the field emission properties.