The enhancement of the electron field emission behavior of diamond/CNTs materials via the plasma post-treatment process for the applications in triode-type vacuum field emission transistor

Plasma post-treatment (ppt) process for enhancing the electron field emission (EFE) properties of diamond/CNTs films for the applications in triode vacuum field emission (VFE) transistors is being reported. The EFE properties of UNCD/CNTs films were markedly improved by modifying the granular structure by ppt-process. The factor which resulted in enhanced EFE properties is due to the formation of nano-graphitic layers, while the nano-sized diamond grains coalesced. The triode VFE transistors performance was also significantly enhanced due to the utilization of DGC/CNTs (or HiD/CNTs) films as cathode that renders the triode VFE transistors possessing great potential for applications in vacuum microelectronics.