Modulation of field emission properties of DLC films with the incorporation of nanocrystalline silver nanoparticles by CVD technique

Composite films containing Ag nanoparticles embedded in diamond-like carbon (DLC) matrix were deposited on glass substrates by using capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) r.f. chemical vapour deposition technique (CVD). Amount of silver incorporation was controlled by the amount of argon in the argon and methane mixture in the plasma. Field emission properties of these films are reported here. Films became sp2 rich with increased incorporation of silver nanoparticles in the DLC matrix. Field enhancement factor increased significantly for films with higher silver content in the DLC matrix. Work function (ϕ) values obtained from the Fowler–Nordheim model varied between 0.04 and 0.10 eV while the field factor (β) varied between 336 and 2759. The critical field was found to vary between 10 and 100 V/μm.