Room-temperature deposition of diamond-like carbon field emitter on flexible substrates

Room-temperature fabrication of diamond-like carbon electron field emitters on flexible polyimide substrate is reported. These thin film field emitters are made using an Ar gas cluster ion beam assisted C60 vapor deposition method. The bond structure of the as-deposited diamond-like carbon film was studied using Raman spectroscopy. The field emission characteristics of the deposited films were also measured. Electron current densities over 15 mA/cm2 have been recorded under an electrical field of about 65 V/μm. These diamond-like carbon field emitters are easy and inexpensive to fabricate. The results are promising for flexible field-emission fabrication without the need of complex patterning and tip shaping as compared to the Spindt-type field emitters.