Field emission from aluminum nitride and cubic boron nitride coatings

Recent studies have shown that thin layers of wide band gap materials such as silicon carbide and diamond can improve electron emission from of sharp field emitters. Aluminum and boron nitrides possess characteristics similar to those of diamond, e.g. chemical and mechanical stability, a wide band gap (from 6-7 eV), a reported negative electron affinity, and the ability to be doped p-type. There is also the possibility of n-type doping. In this study we investigate the field emission properties of these III-V nitrides deposited onto silicon and molybdenum by both reactive magnetron sputtering and by dielectrophoresis. Emission properties for diamond, AlN, and c-BN are compared and are projected to other wide band gap materials.