Study of nanometric thin pyrolytic carbon films for explosive electron emission cathode in high-voltage planar diode

•Explosive electron emission from pyrolytic carbon (PyC) cathode is reported.•We observe high current density, 300 A/cm2, and stable emission parameters.•PyC integrity ensures a high application potential for high current electronics.

We report on an experimental study of explosive electron emission properties of cathode made by nanometric thin pyrolytic carbon (PyC) films (2–150 nm) deposited on Cu substrate via methane-based chemical vapor deposition. High current density at level of 300 A/cm2 in 5 · 10− 5 Pa vacuum has been observed together with very stable explosive emission from the planar cathode. The Raman spectroscopy investigation proves that the PyC films remain the same after seven shots. According to the optical image analysis of the cathode before and after one and seven shots, we conclude that the most unusual and interesting feature of using the PyC films/Cu cathode for explosive emission is that the PyC layer on the top of the copper target prevents its evaporation and oxidation, which leads to higher emission stability compared to conventional graphitic/Cu cathodes, and therefore results in longer working life.