From self-organized masks to nanotips: A new concept for the preparation of densely packed arrays of diamond field emitters

Diblock copolymer based gold nanoparticle arrays are used to pattern diamond and silicon surfaces on the nanoscale. Taking advantage of diblock copolymers forming spherical reverse micelles, which self-assemble into hexagonally ordered arrays when deposited onto a surface, gold nanoparticle patterns are prepared from HAuCl4 loaded poly(styrene)-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P2VP) micelles on top of diamond and silicon. By applying these particles as nanomasks for subsequent reactive ion etching, the hexagonal pattern is transferred into the substrate resulting in a corresponding array of diamond nanotips and silicon nanopillars, respectively. In the case of B-doped diamond, these nanotips exhibit a significantly enhanced electron emissivity as compared to a polished surface proving the new functionality resulting from nanopatterning field emitters of an unprecedented areal density.